The Phillies broke their decade-plus postseason drought, then went to St. Louis and swept the Cardinals in the Wild Card round. Now they square off against their divisional rivals in Atlanta in the NLDS. They’ve made a few changes for this series, swapping out right-hander David Robertson for fellow righty Nick Nelson, while subbing in outfielder Dalton Guthrie for infielder Nick Maton.
Right-Handed Pitchers
- Andrew Bellatti
- Connor Brogdon
- Seranthony Dominguez
- Zach Eflin
- Kyle Gibson
- Nick Nelson
- Aaron Nola (Game 3 starter)
- Noah Syndergaard
- Zack Wheeler (Game 2 starter)
Left-Handed Pitchers
- Jose Alvarado
- Bailey Falter
- Brad Hand
- Ranger Suarez (Game 1 starter)
Catchers
Infielders
Outfielders
- Nick Castellanos
- Dalton Guthrie
- Bryce Harper
- Brandon Marsh
- Kyle Schwarber
- Matt Vierling
The absence of Robertson is the most notable difference from the Wild Card round, as he has been a key component of the club’s bullpen this year. Manager Rob Thomson tells reporters, including Todd Zolecki of MLB.com, that Robertson strained his calf when he jumped in celebration of Harper’s home run in Game 2 this weekend. Robertson has received an injection of platelet-rich plasma in Philadelphia and is still there.
Robertson, 37, missed a good chunk of the past few seasons due to Tommy John surgery. He only threw 6 2/3 innings in 2019 before getting shut down and then missed the entirety of the 2020 season. He returned in 2021 and was able to log 12 innings with the Rays, along with four more in the postseason. He signed with the Cubs here in 2022 and looked like his old self for the first time in a while, getting traded to the Phillies at the deadline. Between the two clubs, he threw 63 2/3 innings this year with a 2.40 ERA, 30.7% strikeout rate and 46.5% ground ball rate. The walks were on the high side at 13.3%, but he still succeeded in high leverage situations, earning 20 saves and three holds.
Starting pitching was a key ingredient for the Phils in the first round, as Wheeler threw 6 1/3 scoreless innings in Game 1 and Nola following up with 6 2/3 scoreless in Game 2. Suárez would have gotten the ball in game three but wasn’t needed, allowing him to start this series. While not as good as Philadelphia’s top two, he still had a very good season. Throwing 155 1/3 innings over 29 starts, he registered a 3.65 ERA despite a subpar 19.5% strikeout rate, thanks to getting grounders on 55.4% of balls in play. The Phillies will need to think about who starts Game 4, as Suárez would be on short rest.
Just a poor look for Robertson. It’s not like he hasn’t won a playoff series before *ahem*2009*ahem*.
Robertson leads the league in getting paid by the Phillies while not playing because of injury.
I would still love him back. 2 yrs @ $5mm per season?
I would do that but after the year he had he might get more even at his age.
Phillies might have just done the Braves a favor leaving a proven battle tested reliever like Robertson off the roster.
@Mercenary.Freddie.Freeman
I think it would have been an even larger favor to use a roster spot on an injured reliever.
Did you not read that he’s injured?
I haven’t been able to edit comments for months on here. Just read the rest of the article and realized he’s actually injured. My bad.
Ya no duh bro bro
why guthrie over my mans – maton?
Defensive replacement for Castellanos and/or Schwarber, and pinch runner…
Strange, they are kinda the same player, infielder by trade who plays of….and similar offensive pop? Nicky Bats hits L and Dalton is a R….
“My mans?” Is Maton more than one person now?
if only you were someone elses mans youd understand. mary swanson called me her mans in a dream once…
I was hoping the Phillies would have to go to three games to beat the Cardinals. Ranger is scary.
Phillies are playing like a different roster. They’re red hot right now.
That’s quite the injury
Oh man, chalk robertson to the list of player injured while celebrating – angel guzman, kendrys morales.
Let schwarber do the 100mph whiff or just the solo hrs and foul balls, keep castelanos and harper off base and its a 3 game sweep.
How does suarez get no cy young votes last year but some obscure st louis cardinal reliever (or was it nl central?) get a cy young vote for a 4.5 era one year?
Ironic that the Phils can’t escape bullpen woes. One of the best pens in the majors from June through August before being devasted by injury and overworked in September. It’s once again a huge question mark.
VonPurpleHayes,
Congratulations on making the Final 8. It all went down as I predicted and the Mets aren’t in there. LOL
Thanks Robrock! The Mets were the only pick I got wrong. I underestimated their ability to “Met.”
My prediction aged very well then.
The Mets had many flaws ( C, DH, 3B, lack of HR Power & Age especially in SP ) They are in fact Beatable if you throw strikes, don’t walk them, and make the Defensive Plays. The Organization is Rotten from the Head ( Sandy Alderson who is outdated and a poor talent evaluator ). I know the difference between this Team and FO that blow alot of smoke but lack results. I grew up watching the ’69 Mets and returned to NYC after University to watch the ’86 Team. Huge difference Night and Day LOL
Sandy Alderson who in his initial offseason with Steve Cohen $ whiffed on almost everything GM, Asst. GM, Manager didn’t pursue C Realmuto and instead thought he had a bargain signing James McCann for 4 years at $ 40 MM a career backup who didn’t play any of the Games against the Padres.
LOL
Mets have a few top tiered aaa mlb ready prospects. Already saw their over hyped catcher..
Why trade them off when they can play in 2023. 1/3 of the payroll is off the books anyway.
They are still paying bobby bonilla tho now canoe.
Either that or the Braves are better and the Phillies fixed their team mid season with a few tweaks and are hot.
What happened to that Mets fan here who loudly insisted at the beginning of the year that the Mets couldn’t be beaten?
I don’t doubt Philly, totally different team than they were in April-June. Cards blew that game 1 by not removing they guy but give Phil’s credit they did what they needed to by keeping it close then putting ball in play
GL to the Phils (kinda). Good news is. at least we both know the Mets are not winning this season.
And have a good off-season urself
I rather have the Braves lose to the Phillies than the Dodgers/Padres truthfully. With that being said, I’ll be rooting for the Phils, but they are not a good team. They will get destroyed in the CS.
Hahaha little mad? How are they not good when they just beat a 100 win team who are the defending champs? Oh and are up 1-0 in the NLCS
Happy to see Brandon Marsh on the roster.
So far the trade looks good for both sides. Hope that’s the case.
Marsh has actually hit really well in Philly. Quite a surprise.
I am not surprised. Brandon Marsh is a quality CF who I watched with the Angels.
Didn’t you have confidence in Kevin Long?
Seriously Von – he’s done wonders with just about every hitter on that roster, with the exception of Nick Castellanos. He’s had Marsh hitting the ball up the middle which forces him to control his swing and concentrate on making contact. Marsh is strong, he doesn’t need to overswing.
He hit well in the minors. Could be streaky at times.
Due to the number of guys who leave Anaheim and get better I think it’s pretty obvious we don’t have good coaching here.
Not imo. He has a .773 OPS despite a .398 BABIP. His power production with Philly is 3 Hrs in 132 ABs, or about 14 HRs/600 ABs. When his BABIP reverts, my guess is that his average will tank as well. His defensive work might still make him a decent player, but I wouldn’t count on this type of production going forward. The 41/6 K/W he has with Philly is untenable.
Phillies are also using him in a platoon, whch ia helping his offensive production.
Occasionally.
Marsh has pop and will be the fulltime center fielder next season.
I agree. I think O’Hoppe ends up being a solid backstop for a good while.
Samuel,
I remember Kevin Long the hitting Coach of the Yankees and have alot of respect. He was responsible for converting Dan Murphy into the Elite Bat while with the Mets and they Both moved over to the Nats.
Once again Sandy Alderson let Kevin Long and Dan Murphy the hero of the 2015 Mets WS Run leave for the Nats who tormented the Mets thereafter. LOL
Glad to see Marsh in the playoffs. That was a good trade for him.
The Phillies bullpen will be their undoing in these playoffs. No real closer.
SerAnthony Dominguez.
@Von I’m genuinely happy for you guys, I hope Philly goes all the way to the world series. It’s looking good so far, Rob Thomson definitely has what this Philly team needed.
Thanks. It’s a huge longshot, but players are rising to the occassion so far. I’m enjoying every second because it can end quick.
I’m going to disagree with everyone. Zach Efflin is an ideal Closer and should be made the full time CL hereafter. He has a very good SS::BB ratio, doesn’t walk many and has been reducing his HR rate. Better, he can go more than one inning.
Try again bullpen has been amazing
You know you’re getting old when you enter your calf merely jumping in celebration
You’re also not staying in shape.
MLB clubs have access to machines, planks, and training people. Doing some stretching ever other day or so is no big deal. I’m not a professional athlete, am old, do stretching 4-5 time’s a week for a bit over an hour, get aerobic exercise steadily – bicycling or swimming, and use weight machines at clubs 3 times week.
I agree that MLB players have had a tough season due to the lockout /negotiations which caused too many games in too few weeks. But guys like Robertson – a player that pitched 64 innings this year – being unprepared to play for ridiculous reasons is just plain unprofessional.
Amazing how the ‘defensive liabilities’ have played in the field so far…
Semi-related, defensive Runs Saved is my least favorite stat.
DD is looking better every day now…
htbnm57;
It’s not just the players he brought in….
He had the coaches prepared and Thompson sent the
players to them. A lot of guys got straightened out during
the season….especially in the bullpen.
He built an organization in 2 years.
Amazing.
And this with Harper injured most of the year, Segura out 1/2 the year , Castellenos having a very sub-par season and a host of other injuries…
Actually, his decisions don’t look nearly as bad, but more importantly, Rob Thompson looks like a miracle worker. Always liked him on the Yankees and would’ve preferred him over LeBooner based on his rep. Nevertheless, the Phillies are playing some insanely good baseball right now. Nola is phenomenal thus far, and is looking like a steal with his $16MM club option in ‘23.
Bye Braves you definitely are missing Freedie. Hello SD or LA
The Braves has no fight at all. How about that 2 100 wins teams golfing