Many sports radio hosts, writers, and pundits are going out on a limb with a prediction that the Philadelphia Phillies will make the postseason. The New York Mets and Washington Nationals won’t let this happen, will they?
Another year of experience for the youngsters — the addition of guys like Jake Arrieta and Carlos Santana to the roster. A lot of luck. Will they all come together and help the Philadelphia Phillies land in the postseason?
Possibly.
But if the New York Mets and Washington Nationals have anything to say about it, the Phillies will need to wait another year.
The hard fact is, the Mets and Nationals aren’t about to let the Phillies bully them. Sure, Philadelphia got better. Those two squads are still superior. Not to mention, each is far more desperate with more at stake.
Inventory of the Phillies Rivals
The Mets aren’t a favorite to win the National League East. However, a healthy year from Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard is a considerable start. Their offense, while still below what the Nationals employ, is threatening. Give me Yoenis Cespedes any day over anyone the Phillies have. Well, unless his body is hurting.
For the Mets, it indeed is a matter of staying healthy. If they can pull that off, defeating the Phillies regularly should come easy.
New York isn’t entirely on the same cusp of seeing their opportunities close. The Nationals, on the other hand, may need to reinvent the roster a little bit next winter should Bryce Harper leave. They could still compete, but it’s pretty significant they did it now, too. This means ensuring the Phillies finish in second place at best.
You better believe if it’s July and the Phillies are looking to add some pieces, the Nationals are going to keep up with them. Though they have less to spend before surpassing the luxury tax, it would be foolish to hold back and let a rival upset them.
Keeping Score
More from Call to the Pen
- Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
- Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
- Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
- Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
- 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals
If we’re keeping score, the Phillies are ahead of both teams at the moment. They nabbed Arrieta, a guy the Nationals were often linked to and the Mets could have used. Transactions only count for so much. It’s the win column that ultimately determines winners and losers. In only a few days, that part of the battle begins.
Philadelphia made plenty of improvements in the standings last year yet still looked far from championship ready. Even those who believe they are playoff-bound in 2018 should agree that a little more seasoning is required before a World Series run is conceivable.
With a powerhouse like the Nationals and a team like the Mets with something to prove meeting with them often, the Phillies have no easy route to becoming this year’s Cinderella story.
What’s interesting about these three teams is that there hasn’t been a point when they’ve all been good at the same time. When the Nationals finally became competitive, the Phillies were playing for .500 baseball. The Mets have teetered for years, never quite staying at the top or bottom of the division for too long.
Next: Phills vs. Mets for 2918
Things could change as soon as this year, but will probably need to wait another season. This year will belong to the Mets and Nationals. Next year, they may be the ones chasing the Phillies.