Let’s spread the brotherly shove…I mean love
Many of us are still reveling in (and sobering up from) the Philadelphia Eagles dominant win in the Super Bowl over the Kansas City Chiefs. Because of this, you get a pass if you probably haven’t realized yet that the team across the street from those World Champion Birds is about to begin their own season in chase of a title.
The Phillies, like the Eagles, have championship aspirations but have fallen short in the last few years. Both teams lost in the championship round in the 2022 season before a deeply underwhelming postseason exit in 2023. The Eagles were finally able to seal the deal in 2024 and avenge their championship loss. What lessons can the Phillies take from their neighbors as they set out to get over the hump themselves?
Before we answer that question, let’s first establish that yes of course we are talking about two drastically different sports. One plays a 162-game regular season while the other plays 17. One has a 26-man active roster while the other has 53. That’s just two of a multitude of differences between the two. In many ways this is an apples to oranges comparison. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t any lessons to be learned.
Don’t panic after a slow start
The Eagles started 2-2 in 2024 following a historic collapse to end the 2023 season. There were loud calls for head coach Nick Sirianni’s job and general anxiety over the future of the team. Then, they emerged from their bye week and became a juggernaut, going 16-1 the rest of the way including one of the most dominant playoff runs in memory.
The Phillies did not start slow in 2024, but they did in 2022 and 2023. It’s very possible that they come out of the gate slow again with an April schedule that includes the likes of the Dodgers, Braves, and Mets. It also wouldn’t be a surprise if calls for Rob Thomson’s job start to intensify if the team has a middling record by the end of April.
Some degree of worry would be justified, but there shouldn’t be any panic. The Phillies have shown that they can dig themselves out of a hole. Ideally, you wouldn’t put yourself in said hole to begin with. But the Eagles serve as a reminder that a mediocre start doesn’t always mean that drastic changes need to be made.
Don’t be afraid to admit and move on from mistakes
But with all that being said, being able to timely identify and rectify mistakes was also a key for the Eagles. The team changed its approach after their bye week and decided to lean more on Saquon Barkley who rewarded them with one of the best seasons for a running back in NFL history. The Eagles signed Bryce Huff to a three year, $51.1M deal before the season and he ended up a healthy scratch in the Super Bowl. Linebacker Devin White was released in October after never having played a snap with the Eagles despite a $7.5M contract. Even great general managers like Howie Roseman make mistakes, but what sets them apart is the ability to identify them and rectify them.
For the last two seasons, the Phillies signed utility players Josh Harrison and Whit Merrifield to one-year deals with varying levels of expected playing time. Both were disasters, as Harrison was worth -0.6 WAR and Merrifield was worth 0.1 WAR. Harrison lasted on the team until August 1st while Merrifield only lasted until July 12th. To the Phillies credit, they eventually realized that these two were sunk costs and decided to move on, but you wouldn’t be wrong to argue that they waited too long.
However, their biggest mistake is still on the roster. Taijuan Walker was arguably the worst starting pitcher in baseball last season and yet will enter camp still with the team. Dave Dombrowski did acquire Jesús Luzardo and the team expects top prospect Andrew Painter to debut around mid-season, so Walker’s spot in the rotation is the furthest thing from guaranteed. But there’s little to no hope that the 32-year-old Walker will regain enough of his form that he could be worth anywhere close to the $36M over two years remaining on his contract. There’s also little evidence that he could be effective in a relief role, and besides the Phillies have their bullpen essentially planned out already.
It’s hard to argue in favor of keeping Walker on the roster. Again, there are different factors at play here from an NFL roster, but the concept remains similar. Yes, pitching depth is a necessity to get through a season, but Walker hasn’t shown that he can confidently outpitch any SP jetsam from the bottom of the 40-man roster. It’s time to bite the bullet and move on from this mistake.
Trust standout rookies in big moments
One of the driving forces behind the Eagles incredible season was their impressive group of rookies led by cornerbacks Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean. Mitchell locked down the opposition’s best wide receivers all season while DeJean had the pick six that began the Super Bowl’s shift into blowout territory. These two cornerbacks stepped onto the team as rookies and became some of the best players on defense and delivered on the biggest stages.
Unfortunately, the Phillies don’t have an immediate influx of talent akin to the Eagles 2024 draft class on the way, but they do have Andrew Painter. Painter was the consensus best starting pitching prospect, ahead of Rookie of the Year winner and Cy Young finalist Paul Skenes, before suffering a torn UCL and undergoing Tommy John surgery. Painter is healthy now and will be built up with the hopes of making his MLB debut sometime around July.
The Phillies will be cautious with the prized right hander, limiting his innings in his first real season in two years. But, with their plan to start his innings count in July rather than April, they’ve left the door wide open for him to not only contribute but to be pitching in extremely meaningful games very early in his career. It’s quite likely that Painter will be making his debut in the heat of a pennant race. That may give the Phillies pause on just how much to trust him down the stretch. But if Painter is performing at a high level like expected, it’s crucial that they give him the space to do so.
Of course, the Phillies will be cautious with Painter’s health and protective of him as they should be. But they can still do that while trusting him to pitch against tough competition, perhaps even into the postseason. If Painter is rolling in late September and is still within his innings limit, the Phillies should feel no qualms about deploying him in some role in the postseason and even consider giving him a start.