October 04, 2025
Bill Streicher/Imagn Images
Catcher J.T. Realmuto believes the 2025 Phillies will enter the postseason as the deepest group they've had since breaking out into playoff contention.
The Phillies are about to begin their fourth consecutive postseason run, still in pursuit of a World Series title.
They came close when they finally broke out in 2022, and have assembled some strong rosters for October in the couple of years since, but for one reason or another, it all just hasn't fully added up yet. Something, or multiple things, always stopped them short.
But they're back again, as a 96-win club, as the NL East champions for a second straight year, and as the No. 2 seed on the National League side of the postseason field.
If you ask J.T. Realmuto, this might be their best group. This might be their best shot.
"In my opinion, this is probably the deepest team we've had," the Phillies catcher said Friday. "I think the lineup's as deep as we've had it. I think our bullpen is, in my opinion, the best top to bottom that we've had since I've been here. Obviously, it's tough losing [Zack Wheeler]. You can't replace a guy like that, but our starting pitching is still very deep. We've got guys that throw the ball really well and have had success at this stage.
"Obviously, we've had some good teams here, but I do feel like this is probably our deepest team we've had."
That's saying something, and up against superstar Shohei Ohtani and the defending World Champion Los Angeles Dodgers for the NLDS, it's what the Phillies are going to need if they're really going to see this October through all the way to the end.
As Realmuto mentioned, the Phillies lost their longtime ace Zack Wheeler for the rest of the year due to a blood clot, but in the face of sunddenly having a massive hole at the top of the rotation, left-hander Cristopher Sánchez rose to the occassion as a potentially Cy Young caliber No. 1, while fellow lefties Jesús Luzardo and Ranger Suárez shored the picture up behind him. The Phils' starting pitching 1-3 can arguably still go toe-to-toe with anyone's.
Their bullpen, in a far, far cry from how it looked to begin the year, also has its clear and dependable order now. Tanner Banks, Matt Strahm, and David Robertson are the immediate arms to call on, and beyond them, Orion Kerkering, and potentially Walker Buehler, Taijuan Walker, or maybe even Aaron Nola. They all just need to get the Phillies to the ninth, then leave it to Jhoan Duran, as the first clear and effective closer the organization has had in a long time, to shut the door.
The Phillies have felt like a different ball club since acquiring Jhoan Duran at the trade deadline.
Bill Streicher/Imagn Images
Then there's the lineup.
Trea Turner went into the season with a renewed emphasis on getting on base in the leadoff spot, and that took him all the way to the NL batting title, while setting up the rest of the order to pile on. Kyle Schwarber, in a noted contract year, took off to MVP level power-hitting numbers; Bryson Stott lowered his hands and rediscovered his swing near the bottom of the lineup late in the year, and further up, Realmuto and Bohm are still a threat to do damage, while trade acquisition Harrison Bader came in and seems to have given the Phils just the kind of complement of outfield depth they were looking for.
Then, of course, Bryce Harper still sits at the heart of all of it, as the face of the franchise and the superstar who just seems made for the moment.
Against an L.A. lineup that could very well be their toughest competition out of any other club in the mix, the Phillies are going to need everyone, everything, and then some.
Game 1 at Citizens Bank Park is only a few more hours away on Saturday at 6:38 p.m. ET.
"I think that's what this series is going to be all about," Realmuto said. "In my opinion, the talent is pretty evenly matched across both teams. [The Dodgers are] extremely talented over in that clubhouse, and we obviously have confidence in the guys we have, so the series is going to come down to who's able to get those big hits in the big moments and command the strike zone, both pitching and hitting. And then not trying to do too much when the runners are on base and being able to shorten up, put the ball in play, find the holes, it's going to be a very evenly matched series.
"Whoever comes up in those big spots and is able to put the ball in play, find the gap...It might not necessarily be the big home run that wins the series. I think it's going to be doing the little things correctly."
It might be their best shot.
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