Three Major Reasons for Optimism Surrounding the Philadelphia Phillies
The crushing Game 7 loss in the National League Championship Series will sting for quite a while.
For the second season in a row, the Philadelphia Phillies came up just a bit short.
The Houston Astros ousted the Phillies in six games during the World Series last season and the Arizona Diamondbacks upended them in seven games in the recently completed NLCS.
Losing consecutive games at home will hurt until spring training starts again in February.
In the meantime, Philadelphia still has plenty to be positive about heading into the 2024 season.
Here are the three biggest reasons to stay optimistic:
1 – Bryce Harper will start next season healthy.
Don’t underestimate how vital that will be.
Harper returned incredibly early from Tommy John surgery. Initial reports had him coming back sometime during the summer. But he shattered that prognosis in the only way he knew.
It was a bit of a sluggish start at the plate but that had to be expected. For a while, it didn’t appear as if Harper would reach 10 home runs. He wound up with 21 homers and 134 hits.
Oh, and he made the difficult transition to first base with very little Major League experience. In fact, he excelled defensively at first base.
Leaders take charge from the front. That’s a cliché, but it’s also true.
Harper is determined to lead the Phillies to a World Series title. He’s determined to take part in a parade down Broad Street.
And he’ll be 100 percent to open next season. Look for another Most Valuable Player caliber season.
2 – Even if Aaron Nola leaves in free agency, the starting rotation will be solid once again.
Zack Wheeler, Ranger Suarez, Taijuan Walker and Cristopher Sanchez will all be rested and ready. Walker and Sanchez should be especially motivated to be key contributors.
President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski will likely add at least one more starter considering highly-touted prospect Andrew Painter is expected to miss the entire ’24 season.
Wheeler and Suarez boast plenty of postseason experience that will help immensely.
Philadelphia is hardly devoid of talent in the starting rotation. That will take pressure off the bullpen.
3 – Trea Turner won’t need a series of standing ovations in early August to get him going.
Turner finished the season with a respectable .266 average, 26 home runs and 170 hits. He was also a major threat on the basepaths with 30 stolen bases.
Turner completed the season – and into the playoffs – looking like the $300 million shortstop the Phillies signed.
When the ’24 season gets underway next March, Turner should be real comfortable. The adoring fan base will be behind him.
If he plays at a high level through the whole season, an MVP season could follow. He has that much talent. It was seen down the stretch of the regular season and for large chunks of the postseason.
