Fatal flaw: Every MLB contender has a weak spot
By Bill Felber
Philadelphia Phillies
The Phillies are within striking distance of the Mets despite several performance gaps of their own.
Begin at third base, where the Phils have counted on Alec Bohm, coming off a 2020 rookie season in which he hit .338. That’s developing into a fatal flaw.
Two-thirds of the way through 2021, Bohm finds himself in a significant sophomore slump. His average is down to .245, he has only 18 extra base hits and he’s carrying a .644 OPS. Largely due to Bohm, Phillies third basemen rank 27th among the 30 MLB teams in production at -2.0 WAA.
Phillies President Dave Dombrowski also must shore up his team’s bullpen. At -2.4 WAA, it ranks 20th. Closer Hector Neris is 1-5 with a 4.69 ERA and just 12 saves.
That’s promoted the Phils to look elsewhere on their own roster – namely at Ranger – with mixed results. Suarez has saved four of his 11 appearances since June 26, but he’s also been saddled with three blown saves and two losses.
The Phils also need help at shortstop, where Didi Gregorius is batting just .217with a .665 OPS. That translates to a -1.2 WAA.
Add it up and the Phillies are trying to win a pennant while weighted down by -5.4 WAA from their pen and the left side of their infield.