What are the Phillies doing?

It’s not often that a sentence like this can be written with a straight face about a team coming off a 96-win season, but it feels appropriate right now: The Phillies are in trouble.

With spring training just weeks away, the Phillies have run it back—just don’t tell that to Rob Thomson.

The team, on paper, is clearly worse than it was when they walked off the field in Los Angeles in early October.

Meanwhile, the Dodgers and Mets are better. The Braves, on health alone, will be better. The path back to the same spot the Phillies were one year ago—trying to get over the top in a big October moment—will be far more challenging to get to in 2026.

But the most concerning part is actually something I haven’t mentioned yet.