Philadelphia Phillies Have Reached ‘World Series or Bust’ Status

The Philadelphia Phillies have been baseball’s best team this season and the expectations for the rest of the year are starting to match that.

Bleacher Report’s Tim Kelly looked around the league to summarize each team’s season in one sentence. Here’s what he had to say about this ballclub:

“The Phillies have gone from a World Series contender to World Series or bust.”

Philadelphia currently holds the best record in the league with the New York Yankees, Cleveland Guardians and Baltimore Orioles all very close behind.

The good news there? All three of those teams are in the AL.

The closest NL team is the Los Angeles Dodgers who are 3.5 games behind at 36-22.

It’s hard to decide which side of the ball has been better between the pitching staff and offense, with both being among MLB’s best.

The Phillies have two pitchers within the top-three favorites to win the 2024 NL Cy Young Award in Zack Wheeler and Ranger Suarez.

Wheeler is the current favorite to win his first Cy Young, in the midst of a career year. Through 12 starts, he has managed a 2.32 ERA and stellar 0.95 WHIP.

Suarez was a bit more surprising than Wheeler and has been utterly dominant all season. He leads the NL in ERA (1.75), WHIP (0.82) and BA (.171).

The staff as a whole ranks first in ERA, FIP, SIERA and WAR. Aaron Nola and Christopher Sanchez have also put together solid seasons while being overshadowed by the other two.

If they were to add anything in terms of pitching, they could bring in a relief pitcher or two via trade. They’ve been linked to top reliever Mason Miller and veteran closer Kenley Jansen so far, so they could be in the market for a new closer to allow Jose Alvarado to go back to his old role.

With the pitching staff looking elite, the offense could be overlooked at times, but they’re also at the top of their game, as they’ve scored more runs than anyone this year while being top-five in OPS, wRC+ and WAR.

The breakout season of Alec Bohm has been a big reason for their success. The slugger has cooled down a bit, but is still slashing .308/.366/.493 for the season.

The biggest addition they can make right now would be a new center fielder. Johan Rojas has had a nice week, but is still just slashing just .227/.270/.300 this season while being just a good defender.

The most high-profile name they have been linked to so far has been Jazz Chisholm Jr. of the Miami Marlins who could provide a solid bat for the next couple of seasons at a good price.

Whether or not they make any big changes at the trade deadline, the goal for this year remains the same: bring home a World Series trophy.