Categories: Phillies Nuggets with Tim Kelly

Underperforming veterans — not Rob Thomson — are biggest issue for Phillies

Trea Turner has struggled in his first season with the Phillies. (Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire)

On the list of things wrong with the 25-31 Philadelphia Phillies, manager Rob Thomson isn’t anywhere near the top. Any suggestion that Thomson — a year after helping guide the Phillies to a World Series appearance — should be feeling the heat is unserious.

That’s not to say that Thomson has been perfect in his first full season as manager — it was a bit peculiar to give Bryce Harper a scheduled off day Tuesday, the first game of the season against the division-rival New York Mets. Regardless of Brandon Marsh’s splits against left-handed pitchers, pinch-hitting Drew Ellis for him with two outs in the ninth inning Wednesday afternoon can certainly be second-guessed.

But the biggest problem for the Phillies is that four key veterans have significantly underperformed what was expected of them entering the season.

Kyle Schwarber: The 30-year-old is a tremendous clubhouse presence, and always accountable when he struggles. Chances are, he’s going to heat up soon. But to this point, he’s objectively been one of the worst everyday players in baseball. Schwarber is hitting just .160 with -11 defensive runs saved, -7 outs above average and a -0.4 WAR, the fifth-worst mark among all qualified players per FanGraphs.

Trea Turner: While he singled and created an early run with his legs Wednesday, Turner still ended up 1-for-4 with two strikeouts and another defensive lapse. There isn’t a lack of effort from Turner after signing an 11-year/$300 million deal — far from it, really. But he’s a career .298 hitter that’s currently hitting .236. Nick Castellanos has re-emerged after pressing too much in his first season in red pinstripes, but it feels like Turner has picked up where 2022 Castellanos left off.

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Aaron Nola: There’s tremendous value in the reliability of Nola, and Phillies fans should tread carefully when envisioning life without him. With that said, the former All-Star’s contract year has been fairly disastrous so far. The 29-year-old has a 4.70 ERA and 4.40 FIP to show after 12 starts this season.

Taijuan Walker: The veteran looked uncomfortable on the mound Wednesday afternoon, and ultimately departed after allowing three runs over just four innings. Matt Gelb of The Athletic relays that there’s no belief Walker is unhealthy, despite a velocity dip in the series finale against his former team. Whatever the issue has been for Walker in 2023, he has a 5.57 ERA and 5.16 FIP in 11 starts as a Phillie. To make matters worse, Walker is owed $54 million over the next three seasons.

The performance of those four stands out the most, but there are other veterans who the Phillies probably need more out of if they are going to dig themselves out of a hole and return to the postseason for the second consecutive season.

J.T. Realmuto is slashing .257/.307/.423 with three home runs, which is underwhelming when compared to the standard that the perennial All-Star has set for himself.

Alec Bohm has 28 RBIs with runners in scoring position, a welcome development for a team that’s struggled to turn ducks on the pond into runs on the scoreboard. But has 2023 been a breakout season for the former first-round pick? He’s hitting .265 with a -0.1 WAR, so not really. (Bohm was placed on the 10-day injured list Thursday morning with a left hamstring strain.)

So yes, you can point to individual decisions that Thomson has made that are questionable in 2023. But in the end, this is a veteran-heavy team with the fourth-highest payroll in baseball. Underperforming veterans are the biggest reason the Phillies are currently under six games under .500, and they’ll ultimately decide whether the team sinks or swims.