It will be impossible for the Phillies to win with this offense

PHILADELPHIA, PA - SEPTEMBER 24: Luis Arraez #4 of the Philadelphia Phillies bats during the game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on Thursday, September 24, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rob Tringali/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB

Baseball Zone

SEE ALL

Discover daily

On This Day: The 1941 Dodgers Won Their First National League Pennant in 21 Years

Trendline

Athletics' Alika Williams Scratched from Thursday's Lineup Against Astros

SB Nation

Red Sox and Cubs probably play three games to conclude season; unclear how many will be at Fenway Park

What is the story about?

Another night. Another loss. Another lackluster performance from the offense.

It all could lead to another early-round postseason exit, IF the Phillies are even able to get there.

On Thursday night in front of a disgruntled Citizens Bank Park crowd, the lineup continued its September-long snooze in a 5-1 loss to the Brewers that featured four Phillies hits, only one of them for extra bases. It was their 12th loss in their last 20 games and, perhaps a bit coincidentally, the 12th time in 20 games this

month they’ve scored 3 runs or fewer, including 7 of their last 9.

On Wednesday night they fell 4-1, piling up just six hits while going 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position, and are 1-for-16 in those situations over the last two nights. Oddly, hitting with runners in scoring position hasn’t really been a problem for the Phils this year. In fact, their .271 average with RISP is actually 3rd-best in baseball and their .798 OPS is 2nd.

But both losses had all the notes of recent October failures, and the fans in attendance recognized it.

And now, they may have also lost their star second baseman and primary trade deadline acquisition for the rest of the season.

Talk about Jesus Luzardo and his potential return all you want. This offense, as currently constituted, cannot win the World Series.

Arraez’ ankle injury trying to evade the tag of first baseman Jake Bauers last night just might be the death blow to an already underachieving lineup.

Even though Arraez was hitting only .278/.309/.369 with just 12 extra-base hits in 46 games with the Phillies, his arrival gave the offense a different dynamic as the No. 4 hitter. But in September, even with Arraez (who also wasn’t hitting great) an already struggling offense is having its toughest month yet.

September: .655 OPS, 79 wRC+
May: .667 OPS, 79 wRC+
April: .678 OPS, 85 wRC+
July: .686 OPS, 85 wRC+
August: .763 OPS, 108 wRC+
June: .778 OPS, 110 wRC+

Their 81 runs scored in September are tied for 5th-fewest in MLB, their .225 batting average is 4th-lowest, .302 OBP is 7th-worst and only the Angels have a worse slugging percentage than the Phils (.352) in September. They have hit just 15 home runs as a team this month, tied with Washington for the fewest in baseball, and their .655 OPS is also last.

The struggle bus has pulled up and welcomed all comers.

Kyle Schwarber leads the team with 5 HRs (one of only three players with more than one), but is hitting .171/.236/.395 with a .721 OPS. That’s second-best among the regulars. Bryce Harper’s .278 average and .348 OBP are fine, but his .367 slugging percentage, one homer and 7 RBIs aren’t getting it done in the No. 3 hole.

It’s pretty simple. If Schwarber and Harper don’t provide the power, no one will.

There is simply no way the Phillies can win a title with players hitting like this (in September):

Trea Turner: .226/.301/.269, wRC+ 83
Bryson Stott: .182/.286/.258, wRC+ 53
Justin Crawford: .239/.265/.391, wRC+ 72
J.T. Realmuto: .113/.214/.177, wRC+ 11
Brandon Marsh: .156/.174/.267, wRC+ 12

Only Alec Bohm is hitting well among the everyday starters, with a .319/.405/.464 slash line and 12 RBIs this month.

But much of these issues aren’t exclusive to September. It’s been a feature of the 2026 Phillies, not a bug. The Phils are 17th in runs scored this season, 22nd in average, 23rd in OBP, 21st in slugging, and 28th in wRC+.

If you judge this team’s position players by fWAR, they have the 5th-worst collection of non-pitchers in the sport. Only the A’s, Reds, Angels and Rockies have less WAR from their position players. As bad as his season has been, Turner actually has the 4th-highest fWAR (1.0) among Phils’ non-pitchers.

How exactly can anyone expect the Phillies to go on a deep playoff run with a roster like this, especially when going up against 100-win teams like the Brewers and Dodgers, and facing a brutal road wild card series against the Braves in Atlanta, provided they can even hold off the hard-charging D-Backs?

And now, the Phillies face some major decisions with Arraez out. Do they move Harper back to first base, second Stott to second and play Bohm at third? Do they insert Bryan de la Cruz and/or Derek Hill into right field? Or, do they simply play Stott at second and Sosa at third the rest of the way?

At this point, it hardly matters if Luzardo is going to be available for the wild card round. It would be nice if the high-priced offense could give their struggling relievers a little breathing room, but that doesn’t seem likely.

We’ve seen these Phillies lose playoff series when the pitching has been incredible. It doesn’t matter.

The lineup stinks. They can’t hit. It isn’t getting better.

Unless something drastic and unforeseen happens, there is no way they are winning a World Series like this.

Make sure to check out an all new Hittin’ Season podcast featuring a plethora of conversation about the Phillies’ offense and its chances in the MLB playoffs.