Phillies Have Golden Opportunity To Pull Away From NL East Rival

Will the Philadelphia Phillies be able to pull away in the NL East after bad news for the Atlanta Braves?

Mar 31, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto (10) and pitcher Jordan Romano (68) celebrate win against the Colorado Rockies at Citizens Bank Park. | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

With the start of the regular season underway for the Philadelphia Phillies, the team has a chance to set the tone in the NL East after winning the division last year for the first time since 2011.

The Phillies are looking to repeat this year, but getting past the super-talented Atlanta Braves and New York Mets won't be easy.

Fortunately for Philadelphia, the last-place Braves are off to a slow start and are already dealing with some major issues. 

Atlanta has started the year 0-5, and things are only getting worse. The Braves recently placed pitcher Reynaldo Lopez on the injured list, while free-agent signing Jurickson Profar was suspended for 80 games for violating the league's PED policy.

Both are notable losses for Atlanta, which is still without Ronald Acuna Jr. and Spencer Strider to begin the year. 

With the Braves missing several key players and off to a slow start, the Phillies must strike while their rivals are down.

Furthermore, things won’t get any easier for Atlanta, which is currently facing the reigning World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.

Even though it’s still very early in the season, digging themselves into a big hole in the standings could cause problems for the Braves down the road.

Atlanta will get healthy eventually, but Philadelphia has a prime opportunity to build a comfortable lead over the Braves. The Phillies are mostly healthy to begin the year and are swinging the bats well, so giving themselves some breathing room now could pay off later in the season.

Even though it is impossible to win the division in April, separating themselves from Atlanta over the next month should be the goal considering what the Braves are dealing with. They likely won't be down for long and the division could come down to a couple of games in the standings, so every game matters, even the seemingly unimportant ones in April.