Philadelphia Phillies: Team preview and prediction for 2020 season
By Sean Basile
The Philadelphia Phillies have crashed an burned the past two seasons. Now they look to utilize a powerful roster and a new manager to turn things around
2019 wasn’t very kind to the Philadelphia Phillies as they finished well-below their set goal going into the season. They had a lot of noise going on within the clubhouse with guys not necessarily playing very hard for Gabe Kapler.
There was also everything that happened with Odubel Herrera as well as the disappointing underperformance of Bryce Harper who they signed to that gargantuan contract. 2019 was just a mess for the Phils, but 2020 might be a different story.
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I really like what this team did in the offseason. They got rid of a manager that appeared to not have much control over the clubhouse and they brought in a guy in Joe Girardi who’s made his bones on his ability to control the clubhouse. Plus, they loaded up on some key free agents and even peppered in a bunch of former Yankees like Didi Gregorius and Neil Walker who Girardi is very familiar with.
One thing that Girardi is very good at is managing a bullpen, which is something that this team has been lacking for the past few seasons. There is talent in the Philly bullpen, but there haven’t been many instances of it being nurtured enough to realize full potential.
With Girardi in there, I think we’re going to see guys like Hector Neris, Victor Arano, and Seranthony Dominguez get to that next level. And once David Robertson gets himself healthy and back to action, the pairing with Girardi will bring Robertson’s career back.