August 07, 2026
Bill Streicher/IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Fans give Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Luis Arráez a standing ovation as he comes to the plate.
A little over a month and a half of games remain in the regular season for the Phillies, who no longer have the trade deadline to look forward to.
After adding Luis Arráez and a pair of relievers, the Phils' roster is set. Andrew Painter is the fifth starter. The bullpen is more or less complete. The reshuffled infield will look the same through October with Bryce Harper manning right field.
The question is whether they're still on an inside track to get there.
At the All-Star break, the Phillies were on the Braves' heels for the NL East division crown (as close as two games behind them). That's no longer a realistic goal.
Philly started their second half with a brutal 3-10 stretch, and are now 8.5 games behind Atlanta. With seven games ahead against the Braves starting in September, the room for error is basically non-existent. Barring an incredible collapse from the Braves down the stretch — a team that also added at the deadline, bringing in outfielder Lane Thomas and pitchers Tyler Mahle and Brent Suter — the Phillies are really hunting to make the postseason as a Wild Card participant.
As it stands on Aug. 7, the Phils hold the second of three NL Wild Card slots, leading the Diamondbacks by one game and trailing the Cubs by a nearly insurmountable six games for that No. 1 slot.
There are a handful of teams technically still alive for a playoff spot, and those are the teams fans will need to scoreboard watch over the next two months.
| Team | Record | GB PHL |
| Cubs | 67-49 | +6 |
| Phillies | 62-54 | — |
| Diamondbacks | 61-55 | -1 |
| Padres | 60-56 | -2 |
| Marlins | 58-58 | -3 |
| Cardinals | 57-58 | -3.5 |
| Reds | 56-58 | -4 |
| Pirates | 57-61 | -4.5 |
| Nationals | 56-61 | -5.5 |
The Phillies play the Cardinals two more times — the first series starts in St. Louis on Monday. They could deliver a knockout blow there with two series wins against them. They also play the Marlins one more time at home on Aug. 17, looking for revenge after Miami swept them a few weeks ago.
Another key series for the Wild Card race lies ahead in the finale of a west coast road trip, as Philly will play the Diamondbacks in Arizona for a three-game set on August 31.
Philadelphia truly does control its own playoff fate. In addition to holding a playoff spot at the moment, they will play enough of the teams they're jockeying with to really impact the postseason picture. They have one of the toughest schedules remaining in baseball, as their future opponents hold a combined .514 win percentage — good for the sixth hardest slate left to play. The Nationals and Cardinals have two of the easiest.
The Wild Card is where Philly did its most damage in recent years, first in 2022 as their World Series run came from the final playoff spot, and again in 2023 where they failed to win the division but still made it to the NLCS. Perhaps they'll find renewed postseason success in 2026 after back-to-back NL East titles and first-round byes led to early exits.
They just have to punch their ticket first.
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