Phillies Surprisingly Avoid List of Biggest Disappointments

The Philadelphia Phillies have shockingly done enough to avoid the list of biggest disappointments in baseball.

May 12, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler (45) is relived by interim manager Don Mattingly (8) against the Boston Red Sox in the eighth inning at Fenway Park. | David Butler II-Imagn Images

The 2026 MLB regular season has been a roller coaster ride for the Philadelphia Phillies, featuring some wild peaks and valleys.

There wasn’t a team more disappointing than them through the first month or so of the season. With a 9-19 record through 28 games, manager Rob Thomson was fired and replaced by interim manager Don Mattingly.

It was a move that the veteran-laden squad responded well to. They won the first six series with Mattingly at the helm, defeating the San Francisco Giants, Miami Marlins, Athletics, Colorado Rockies, Boston Red Sox and Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Cincinnati Reds stopped the streak, and they have now lost a second in a row after being defeated by the Cleveland Guardians. Losers in four out of their last five games, even this fall back to reality hasn’t landed the Phillies on an unwanted list.

Phillies avoid biggest disappointments list

May 24, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper (3) reacts after striking out to end the fifth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Citizens Bank Park. | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Over at ESPN, a 2026 Memorial Day MLB standings check was done. Experts Jeff Passan, Buster Olney, Jesse Rogers, Bradford Doolittle, Alden Gonzalez and Davie Schoenfield were asked different questions about how things look now, picking surprises and disappointments.

Shockingly, Philadelphia wasn’t mentioned once by any of the people on the expert panel as the biggest disappointment this year, thus far. Passan selected the Detroit Tigers, who have bottomed out since Tarik Skubal landed on the injured list with an elbow issue.

Rogers selected the Seattle Mariners as his biggest disappointment. A game away from the World Series in 2025, they have failed to capitalize on what is arguably the worst division in baseball, the American League West, with a 25-29 record entering play on May 25.

Doolittle doubled down on the Mariners as the biggest disappointment. He mentioned the litany of underachieving stars, such as catcher Cal Raleigh and starting pitcher Luis Castillo, as the headliners.

There's everyone else.... and then there's Schwarbs 😂 pic.twitter.com/vFMoSxAx5l

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) May 24, 2026

The New York Mets, Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles were also mentioned as possible answers. All of those teams have certainly underachieved, but the Phillies' escape from even being mentioned is a surprise.

Expectations were incredibly high coming into the campaign. Being 10 games under the .500 mark before April is even over certainly warrants some consideration, even with the incredible turnaround that followed.

Entering play on May 25, Philadelphia had a record of 26-27, 9.5 games behind the Atlanta Braves in the National League East and a half-game behind the shockingly proactive Washington Nationals.

Alas, despite their struggles, the Phillies are only three games out of the final wild card spot in the NL, which is currently held by the Chicago Cubs. That is a lot better a position than some of the other disappointments, who are struggling to take advantage of a mediocre AL.

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