Phillies baseball is back, which means weekly mailbags are back.

The first official team workout took place on Monday, and their first official Grapefruit League game is on Saturday vs. the Tigers. I’ll be dropping the weekly mailbag tweet every Monday, so make sure you leave your replies over on Twitter!

“With all the spending the Dodgers did, the Braves coming back to health, etc, what would be a successful season in your eyes?” -@ryancoyle35

Some people are going to say World Series or bust, and while I like that mentality, I don’t even know if you can say that with the state of the Los Angeles Dodgers right now.

The minimum for the Phillies needs to be finding themselves back in the NLCS. If they get back, and lose a hard-fought battle with the Dodgers, it’ll be hard for me to call this season a failure. If they get back to the World Series and get through the Dodgers? Automatic success, and I like their chances against any American League team right now.

“Am I crazy or a delusional Phillies fan to believe this team could hang with the top 5 teams the MLB this year?” – @BigAlEoP

No, you’re not delusional at all. Don’t let the weird Phillies hater Twitter warriors tell you you’re crazy. This is still a top five team in baseball, and they can compete with anybody in the league.


“Curious on the rotation since they are so deep… and assuming Schwarber bats first who’s hitting behind Harper” – @JoePetrusky

Rob Thomson said earlier in the week that he wants to break up the lefties, which I think is a smart idea. If I made the decisions, this is how I’d line it up with Thomson’s mentality:

  1. Zack Wheeler
  2. Cristopher Sanchez
  3. Aaron Nola
  4. Jesus Luzardo
  5. Ranger Suarez

I think it’s tough to assume that Schwarber stays in the leadoff. Everything out of camp makes it seem like the Phillies are going to try some new things with the lineup. If Schwarber stays leadoff, I think the lineup will stay pretty similar to last year. If Schwarber goes to 4 (which is my prediction), here’s how I’d line it up:

  1. Trea Turner
  2. Bryce Harper
  3. Alec Bohm
  4. Kyle Schwarber
  5. Nick Castellanos

“Is Marsh/Rojas a platoon or is Marsh going to play some left field when Rojas plays center? How do you think the games get divided between Kepler/Marsh/Rojas” – @ercole_nick

As of now, the goal for the everyday outfield seems to be Max Kepler in left and Brandon Marsh in center. The Phillies want both Kepler and Marsh in there against lefties because they want these guys to be everyday players. I think Marsh would probably get a day off when it’s Rojas, but they have options. It’s nice to have multiple outfielders that can play multiple positions.

“Your thoughts on the Lauber report that Harper doesn’t want to bat leadoff? Just thought he could have come off in a better light there. I’m a little disappointed after seeing the selfless play from the Super Bowl champion Eagles.” – @philaphan_MLebo

I don’t think you should buy much into Harper’s tone when asked about the leadoff situation. Bryce Harper wants to win. Everybody on this team wants to win, and honestly, I agree with Bryce.

If people were anti-Schwarber in the leadoff spot, then they should be anti Bryce as well. Having Bryce Harper up in situations with RISP should be the #1 goal.

“Realistically what makes you feel positive that the Phillies can get over the hump this year, in comparison to what has happened the last few years?” – @A_J_8

I think the rotation is the best it’s ever been. Yes, last year we saw that even an elite rotation can’t win every single game in the playoffs for you, but baseball is about being hot at the right time, as funny as it sounds.

I think last year was an exception to that as far as the Dodgers, but we saw it with the Mets, Tigers, and more.

Look at some of the World Series winners from the last few years. The Nationals? Hot at the right time. The Rangers? Hot at the right time. Baseball is a guessing game sometimes, it’s a weird, weird sport. If the Phillies are hot, they can beat anyone in baseball in a 7 game series. Now they just have to get hot at the right time, and I think losing to the Mets in the first round is going to light a fire under them for 2025.

“Why will this season be different in the playoffs? Same team… same issues?” – @Beardaknowledge

It’s hard to give a definitive answer, because playoff baseball is weird, like I’ve already said. I think they’re going into 2025 as mad as they’ve ever been.

The pitching is as deep as ever. Two of those six awesome starters (Andrew Painter included once he’s up) will go to the bullpen once October is here. Imagine a bullpen of Ranger Suarez and Andrew Painter on top of what you already have?

I’m counting heavy on a Bryson Stott bounceback season, which is crucial for this team. I think J.T. Realmuto getting off of his feet a little more is going to do wonders for him. This lineup is good enough when they’re at their best, they just have to play at that level when it matters.

“What would you do with JT this year from a playing time perspective? He seems to have burnt out the last couple of years as the season has worn on” – @Citizendivided

If everything works out with Rafael Marchan, who I assume will be the backup catcher on Opening Day, then I’d love JT to get off of his feet twice a week. 3-4 games a week early in the season, keep him fresh for the summer push into October.

I think they’ll find ways to get creative. I think you’ll see some games with Schwarber in left and JT at DH.

“Who will be the 2023 Hoffman/2024 Ruiz? Aoyagi? Crismatt? Someone else?” – @BlakeIFox

I think Koyo Aoyagi is my easy answer. He’s extremely unique, and I think the Phillies like that. They’ll give him a shot.

I’d also look out for Moises Chace. He’s got the stuff to pitch out of the pen.