Phillies Eliminated: Aging Roster Spurs Questions on Future and Leadership

The Philadelphia Phillies have fallen to the Atlanta Braves in the opening-round Wild Card Series, ending their 2026 season. The Phillies' 6-2 loss to Atlanta in Thursday's Game 3 eliminated them from the postseason. Yes, they made it to the playoffs for a fifth straight year, but for the third straight year, they failed to win a postseason series. The Phillies won the National League pennant in 2022, but haven't won the World Series since 2008.

Beyond the disappointments of another early exit, it's a time of transition for the Phillies on some levels and likely status quo on other fronts. That adds up to an uncertain near-term future in Philly, and that merits further exploration. Let's do that now with three key questions facing the Phillies as they prepare to begin an uncertain offseason -- uncertain beyond even the unknowns presented by the ongoing negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement and the likelihood of an owner-led lockout in early December.

1. Who will be the Phillies' next manager?

Lead decision-maker Dave Dombrowski parted ways with manager Rob Thomson in late April, just 28 games into the season, after a 9-19 start. The decision was in contrast to Thomson's quite successful overall body of work in Philly, if not his 2026 results. He guided them to the pennant in 2022 after taking over for Joe Girardi 51 games into the season. Thomson also helmed the Phillies to NL East titles in 2024 and 2025 and 95 and 96 wins, respectively, in those seasons. However, the shine came off quickly this season, especially after those early playoff exits.

In replacing Thomson, Dombrowski approached Alex Cora , who had recently been let go by the Boston Red Sox , but Cora decided to take the rest of 2026 off. That led to Don Mattingly, an experienced manager who'd been Thomson's bench coach, serving as interim manager. The Phillies surged under Mattingly, as they went 79-55 after he took over. That's a 96-win season scaled to 162 games.

The Phillies stumbled badly in the final days of the regular season , but managed to fend off the Arizona Diamondbacks on the final day and secure that fifth straight postseason berth. Mattingly has maintained his interim status all the while, even as other interim managers (the Mets' Andy Green and the Red Sox's Chad Tracy) were handed permanent gigs at the tail end of the season and even though he's expressed interest in the permanent post. Dombrowski, for his part, said that he wasn't ready to make a decision until after the Phillies' season . That timeline has sped up faster than anyone would have liked. Had Mattingly led them to a deep October run, then Dombrowski may have been, in essence, forced to make Mattingly the manager moving forward. With another early flame-out, though, he can more plausibly move on to his preferred targets, even if the fact that Mattingly's son Preston is the Phillies general manager could theoretically make things a bit awkward.

The expectation is that Dombrowski will once again pursue Cora, with whom he worked in Boston and won a World Series in 2018. Other leading managerial candidates may include future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols, former Twins manager Rocco Baldelli, former Orioles manager Brandon Hyde and Joe Espada, who's likely on the way out in Houston.

Cora, though, seems likely to be target No. 1 for the Phillies and Dombrowski.

2. Will the rotation still be a force?

"Probably" is the answer here, but for how much longer? The Phillies during this regular season ranked seventh among MLB's 30 teams in rotation ERA and third in FIP. They were also second in innings. At an individual level, lefty Cristopher Sánchez led all pitchers in WAR and would probably be the National League Cy Young winner if not for Jacob Misiorowski . Zack Wheeler , in his age-36 season and coming off surgery to correct thoracic outlet syndrome, was still at his peak. Jesús Luzardo enjoyed an excellent breakout season and is probably bound for a top-five finish in the Cy Young vote. Aaron Nola , who gave up a three-run home run in the first inning on Thursday night, improved to an adequate level after a deeply concerning 2025 campaign and rough start to 2026.

Without the rotation's work in 2026, the Phillies don't make the postseason. Likely, they'll once again need to do the heavy lifting in 2027 if a sixth straight playoff appearance is in the cards. Will they stay this healthy, though?

Counting the playoffs, Sánchez has worked more than 600 innings over the last three seasons. Will that exact any kind of toll in 2027? Wheeler, who'll be in his walk year next season, will turn 37 in late May. That's an age that lends itself to swift decline. Luzardo dealt with shoulder inflammation late in the season. Nola had an FIP of almost 5.00. Andrew Painter  had an inspiring three-inning relief appearance in the postseason, but still has steps to take in his development.

Obviously, not all of those pessimistic scenarios will come to pass, but it's fair to wonder whether the rotation-reliant Phillies can afford any of them to happen in 2027.

3. Can the aging lineup score enough runs?

The Phillies have a lineup that was both bad and old in 2026. Position players used by the Phils this season had an average age of 30.1 years. Across all of MLB, only the Dodgers had an older crop of hitters. In surely related matters, the Phillies' offense this season ranked 19th in runs scored and 22nd in OPS. However, in terms of the forward-looking xwOBA , which estimates "deserved" outcomes at the plate and thus has significant value when projecting forward, the Phillies were tied for 10th. Therein lies the cause for optimism.

Still, the 2027 season will be the age-34 campaigns for Bryce Harper , Kyle Schwarber , and Trea Turner (Turner's already a pronounced liability at shortstop and took a huge step back at the plate in 2026). Catcher J.T. Realmuto , one of the worst hitters in all of MLB this season, will be in his age-36 campaign. Signs of decline are in place for all five of those hitters (for those counting, that's more than half the lineup), and the expectation is that those decline patterns will continue in 2027.

To paper over this, the Phillies badly need Justin Crawford to develop his offensive game. Alec Bohm is headed for free agency, as is deadline addition Luis Arraez . Aidan Miller, perhaps the organization's top prospect, can't arrive soon enough. Ideally, he'll bump Turner from shortstop, but the reality is that Turner's signed through 2033 and may still be kept at the position he can no longer adequately man for somewhat longer. As for Miller, he probably needs some additional time at Triple-A, but a first-half arrival in Philly seems like a strong possibility for next season. They'll badly need him there and need him to produce straightaway.

There should be some payroll space with the likely departures of Bohm, Arraez, and Adolis García. As well, the Phillies will no longer be paying Nick Castellanos and Taijuan Walker . That should leave enough budget space to address the need for a corner outfielder. A pending free agent like Seiya Suzuki or Randy Arozarena would be made to order for a Phillies team trying to keep that contending window cracked open just a bit longer.

In a division that houses the Braves, the free-spending New York Mets , and up-and-coming young teams like the Washington Nationals and Miami Marlins , that window may indeed be closing fast. The Phillies can eke out one more year of relevance, but they'll need some developmental wins and a targeted strike or two on the market.

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_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/where-do-phillies-go-from-here-aging-core-falls-short-again/)._