October 02, 2025
Eric Hartline/Imagn Images
Cristopher Sánchez will lead the Phillies into the postseason.
The Phillies arrive at another October, still chasing after a World Series with the Bryce Harper-led core.
But things are a bit different now.
This is the fourth time around, and last postseason saw them take another step down the ladder in an NLDS upset to the Mets, which led to questions as to how much longer the club could continue like it has.
They also don't have Zack Wheeler anymore, as they lost him for the season to a blood clot. Cristopher Sánchez, though, has emerged as an ace and a Cy-Young caliber lefty, so now he'll be leading the Phils into the playoffs as their new No. 1 among a rotation of southpaws.
Through it all, they still won 96 games, the NL East, and stood as the NL's No. 2 seed.
They're still good. Are they finally enough this time?
The PV staff pondered that along with a few other questions for the postseason...
Nick Tricome: The defending champs, who can throw Shohei Ohtani and a whole ton of other firepower both at the plate and on the mound at you. That's a tall order right away, but the Phillies can keep up with them, and ironically, if they can get the Dodgers to reach into the bullpen, that's when the bats could really tee off. Last year, it would've been the total inverse, but baseball can move fast.
Anyway, I think it's quite possible that the Dodgers end up as the Phillies' toughest competition all postseason, but it'll be a series they come out on top of in four games.
Adam Aaronson: The Dodgers are far from flawless – in fact, their bullpen might be among the weakest units left in the National League field – but their collection of superstar talent is terrifying. Ohtani is Ohtani, with a resurgent Mookie Betts behind him and Freddie Freeman up next. Los Angeles does not have its usual overwhelming talent advantage in this series, but even against the Phillies' excellent pitching the Dodgers have a chance to put immense pressure on a Phillies offense that has not always clicked in October.
No outcome would surprise me in a five-game series between two teams as good as the Phillies and Dodgers, but I have a bit more faith in the Dodgers' best hitters than I do in the Phillies' best hitters. If manager Rob Thomson had a slightly larger tree of trust in terms of arms he could go to in big spots, I would have more confidence in the Phillies coming out on top.
Geoff Mosher: I see two advantages for the Phillies in this series outside of being at home and already having a winning record against the Dodgers over the past two years. The Phillies will be throwing out three left-handed starters against a Dodgers lineup that's powered by two left-handed batters (Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman) and another left-handed batter (Max Muncy) in the top five of the order. Also, the Phillies have feasted all season on bullpens. The Dodgers' bullpen isn't as intimidating as it once was and already had to throw five innings and use six arms in the Wild Card series. I like the Phillies in four games.
Evan Macy: I would say it's a con flip. The Phillies will be well-rested and have all their ducks in a row for this matchup. They'll be playing a team they have handled the last two years, winning nine of 12 meetings. If the energy from the Red October crowd can spark the Phillies into midseason form after the layoff, I think they can hang with and handle any team in baseball.
One of the reasons baseball has the longest regular season in all of sports is because of the randomness of a small sample size in baseball. Anything can happen. The Phillies should be able to make their own luck by being prepared and having a ton of experience. I think they win in dramatic fashion in five games.
Nick Tricome: Immediately, Ohtani. He homered right at the top of Game 1 against the Reds on Tuesday night in the Wild Card and you could just feel how it took the wind out of Cincinnati's sails. He's an always-on gamebreaker.
Adam Aaronson: Ohtani and the Dodgers. No other player could threaten to decimate the Phillies' pitching staff and silence their lineup... on the same night. Ohtani spun five masterful innings of no-hit baseball against the Phillies last month in Los Angeles; he also hit a pair of homers during that series. If the Phillies can get by the Dodgers, no other National League team should feel quite as imposing – but we know very well that it is never that simple.
Geoff Mosher: Tempted to say the Phillies' middle relief, but that'll probably be my answer to the next question. The Brewers worry me. They make contact, they swipe bags, they don't strike out, they're not overly reliant on the long ball, they have excellent pitching from rotation to bullpen, and they play above-average defense. They have few weaknesses.
Evan Macy: Probably the Dodgers for all the reasons mentioned. They have lots of depth and experience too.
Nick Tricome: The bullpen. Jhoan Duran has been great since getting here as the closer, David Robertson has been solid since coming back, too, and Matt Strahm and Tanner Banks have been steady, but reach any deeper to Orion Kerkering or Lou Trivino or even Taijuan Walker or potentially Aaron Nola, and it's gonna be tough not to hold your breath.
Cold bats at the worst possible time, unfortunately, are always in play for this club, too.
Adam Aaronson: Bullpen production in any sample as small as this is going to be subject to randomness, but there is little reason to stress about Duran, Strahm, Banks and Robertson. The Phillies have no path to a World Series without those guys getting important outs. But Kerkering must rejoin that group, and at least one arm must emerge as a viable option in medium-leverage spots, whether it is Trivino, Walker Buehler or left-hander Tim Mayza.
Nola seems ticketed to join the starting rotation should the Phillies advance to the NLCS, and even after he ended his season with a gem against the Minnesota Twins it is hard not to have significant concern. If Nola does start, Thomson should be prepared to use the quickest of hooks.
Geoff Mosher: Instead of "what," let's go with, "who." Orion Kerkering and David Roberston. The Phillies won't go anywhere if they can't get high-leverage outs in the seventh and eighth innings, and Rob Thomson doesn't have enough arms to hide those two set-up guys for an entire series. Really hoping Topper can see the value of getting 7+ from his starters and going right to the Durantula for a 4- or even 5-out save.
Evan Macy: The Phillies' bats are always hot and cold. They were cold in Queens last October and in Phoenix the year before that. They need to ham and egg it, with players lifting other players up instead of everyone slumping together. If the offense can be consistent the pitching doesn't worry me much.
Nick Tricome: Starting pitching. Even approaching this October as lefty-heavy as they are, their rotation can go up against anyone, which says a ton when it's without Zack Wheeler and had Aaron Nola struggling for nearly all of the year.
Adam Aaronson: Cristopher Sánchez, the best starting pitcher remaining in the National League. Losing Wheeler is a devastating blow, and it is remarkable to think about the Phillies being able to throw Wheeler and this version of Sánchez a combined four times in a five-game series. But without this team's previous ace on the mound, its next one has emerged. Sánchez is just about as good as it gets, capable of dominating right-handed hitters and left-handed hitters alike.
Geoff Mosher: Left-handers – in the starting rotation, in the bullpen, and in the batting order. It's impossible not to be confident about the trio of Cris Sánchez, Ranger Suárez and Jesús Luzardo, especially in a short series, and Tanner Banks has been a pleasant surprise from the bullpen. If we're scared of what Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman or potentially Christian Yelich could do against Phils pitching, then we should be equally optimistic about what Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper can do against opposing pitchers.
Evan Macy: The Phillies have star power. Sánchez will finish second for NL Cy Young. Jhoan Duran is as big a star at closer as we've had in Philly. Bryce Harper is an MVP-winner and Kyle Schwarber will come close to winning one this year. Trea Turner won the batting NL title. Even the extravagantly expensive Dodgers are lacking in the household names Philadelphia boasts. If they can all peak at the right time, this could be a laugher of a postseason.
Nick Tricome: On the mound, Cristopher Sánchez. He's the No. 1. This is his postseason. He's continually reached new heights as a starter and now as an ace, and this is his next big moment. The Phillies go as far as he can take them.
At the plate, Trea Turner. He assumed the leadoff spot with a renewed emphasis from both himself and the club to get on base, and that won him the NL batting title. Their offense all starts with him, so he needs to lead the charge and set the table.
Adam Aaronson: Bryce Harper, already quite possibly the best postseason hitter in Phillies history. Harper has risen nearly every October occasion since arriving in Philadelphia, from "Bedlam at the Bank" and "Lightning Strikes" in 2022 to a pair of staredowns and everything in between. Even in 2024, the Phillies' lone postseason victory would not have happened if not for a titanic Harper swing.
His 2025 numbers, relatively speaking, have been modest. Harper has been very good, but not the sort of game-breaking superstar he has been known as for much of his career. Does Harper have another epic October run in him?
Geoff Mosher: Harper. With Schwarber hitting behind him, Harper will see pitches to hit, and his postseason track record says he'll hit them – hard and far. Hard to see the Phillies winning it all without Harper being the usual playoff version of himself.
Evan Macy: Bryce Harper can win an entire series if he's hot. Also I know he's a manager, not a player, but Rob Thomson has a lot of levers to pull this October, ranging from who starts on what day, what relievers to use and when, as well as how often. He'll be platooning Brandon Marsh and Max Kepler and Nick Castellanos. If he makes the right decisions he could be the biggest reason for success, if he gets them wrong, it could set the team up to fail.
Nick Tricome: Harrison Bader is built for this. He's been great for the outfield since being acquired from the Twins, and with his unique look and quality of play, he could make himself a Philly sports legend with a memorable October.
Adam Aaronson: If the Phillies want to beat the Dodgers, they will need to quiet the top of that dangerous order as many times as they can. Enter Strahm and Banks, the two trusted lefty relievers who will certainly be tasked with retiring Ohtani, Betts and Freeman. Strahm is no stranger to high-leverage outings in October, but Banks has quietly been much more effective against left-handed hitters this year, holding them to a .175/.213/.243 slash line.
Geoff Mosher: Brandon Marsh. The Phils will see plenty of right-handed pitching in the postseason, and if they can get the second-half Marsh (.302/.354./.527) in the postseason from the 5-hole, they'll be in a great spot, especially if teams try to pitch around Harper and Schwarber.
Evan Macy: I think the bullpen could be the difference. On Tuesday, Phillies GM Dave Dombrowski said this is the best bullpen he's had in Philly. If they pitch that way, it could carry them to a parade down Broad Street.
Nick Tricome: If they get past the Dodgers, they'll win the World Series. No other hurdle will be greater. The Brewers are the 1-seed, sure, but I've seen so many good regular-season Brewers teams just hit a wall once the calendar turns to fully buy into them being the NL's best.
Out of the AL, I think it's going to be the Blue Jays that make it out. The Phillies will get it done in six.
Adam Aaronson: I am skeptical about escaping a five-game set against the Dodgers, so I have to say no. But if the Phillies advanced past Los Angeles, there is a strong argument they would have quickly bypassed the greatest obstacle in between Saturday and a World Series parade.
Geoff Mosher: If they get there, yes. Really don't have much fear in any of the AL teams that could potentially make it to the Fall Classic. The Phillies' biggest obstacles are in the NL.
Evan Macy: Let me put it this way — have more faith in the Phillies having a parade than the Eagles.
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