There has been quite the amount of negativity surrounding the Phillies this offseason. It does not help that the players they ended up signing this offseason were the same ones that were on the team last year, a pot probably stirred a bit by national and local media focusing on the idea that they are “running it back” in 2026 after multiple failures to win a championship since 2022.
So when asked the question to give the ultimate prediction about how the Phillies will finish the season, there was
some mild surprise that people still recognize the obvious.
Almost nine in ten voters believe that the team will at the bare minimum make the playoffs in 2026. It’s labeled a mild surprise as there have been many people writing this team off, but at least there is recognition that this is still a good team capable of getting even further than simply making the playoffs.
There are still some things that could happen that would trip up the Phillies in their playoff quest. Yet, as repeated many, many times this offseason – this is still a good team! The warts we’ve seen show up in late season finishes in the past are still festering a bit, but availability players that could act as a salve just weren’t there in abundance. There were still good signings (bringing back Kyle Schwarber, adding Brad Keller), so the talent level is still high. We’ll just have to wait and see if they can finish the job.
