The Phillies’ 2025 season ended in a disappointing defeat after clinching the second seed in the National League and losing 3-1 to the Dodgers in the National League Division Series. Despite winning 96 games in the regular season, the most since 2012, they also ended with an early postseason exit. 

This year, the Phillies were a very complete team, as they had elite power hitting with a career-best from Kyle Schwarber. He had 56 homers, second in the MLB, and 132 RBIs, which led all of baseball. Additionally, they had good contact hitting with a strong season from Trea Turner, who won the National League batting title. Most importantly, the Phillies had arguably the best starting rotation in all of baseball. Even without Zack Wheeler, whose season ended early with a shoulder injury, they still had pitchers such as Christopher Sanchez, Jesus Luzardo, and Ranger Suarez. Three elite starting pitchers going into the postseason is exactly what a World Series team looks like. 

With all the incredible components to the 2025 team, their biggest weakness from previous postseasons came back to haunt them: the bullpen. The 2024 Phillies bullpen was one of the best in all of baseball, but it took a drastic turn in 2025. The only bright spot was closer, Jhoan Duran. The Phillies acquired Duran in a trade with the Minnesota Twins just prior to the trade deadline.

 Despite the bullpen being the Phillies’ biggest weakness, the hitting was abysmal in the postseason as well this year. The Phillies batted .212 in the postseason compared to .258 in the regular season, which is a massive difference. Due to this drastic decrease, some fans are calling for manager Rob Thomson to be fired, but I disagree. He has taken this team to the playoffs in all four seasons as the manager, and he completely turned the team around from a mediocre team at the start of 2022 to a World Series contender by the end of that same year. This nearly perfect regular season ended miserably as for the team that was supposed to run the table in the National League. An amazing Phillies regular season came to an end with agony and heartbreak yet again. This begs the important question: what changes will the Philadelphia Phillies make for not only the 2026 season but also the future entirely?

The Phillies have a large number of free agents going into free agency: Kyle Schwarber, JT Realmuto, Harrison Bader, Ranger Suarez, Max Kepler, and Walker Buehler. So who should they re-sign out of this group of guys? JT Realmuto, without hesitation. The Phillies catchers besides Realmuto would be Rafael Marchan and Garrett Stubbs, who have disappointed with their play. Realmuto has been the starting catcher since 2019, and I cannot see that changing for the next few years despite Realmuto being 34 years old. Another must-sign is Kyle Schwarber, who, although coming off of a career-defining season, will be worth a tremendous amount of money. The reason for concern with this is that he has been extremely underwhelming in the last couple postseasons. You simply cannot pass up on a man who finished second in National League MVP voting. Schwarber is also a gem to that clubhouse. He is not just a great player but also possesses a fantastic locker room presence  that would be perfect for the up-and-coming Phillies. My third and final must-sign is Harrison Bader. After the Phillies acquired Bader at the trade deadline, he batted .305 and is an important multi-tool player; he hits for contact or power when needed and is an elite speedy defender in center field. He is  the perfect guy to have on your roster. Another outfielder in the Phillies system is Lehigh Valley IronPigs star, Justin Crawford. Crawford is an elite contact hitter and an even better fielder. Last season with the Iron Pigs, he had a .334 batting average along with an .863 OPS in 112 games. Another player who deserves the call-up is pitcher Andrew Painter, which is long overdue. Painter was supposed to be a starting pitcher during the 2023 season, yet injuries and inconsistency in the minors have delayed his long-awaited Phillies debut, but I believe 2026 is finally the time for Andrew Painter to show these fans what he’s truly capable of.

Now we get to the players who the Phillies should let go or don’t need to re-sign. Ranger Suarez is the biggest name who I don’t think is necessary to resign with this organization. This is a hot take to most, and I understand why. I personally love Ranger as a person and a player, but he’s not needed, especially if Wheeler is healthy for the start of next season. The Phillies already have an elite rotation, plus there will be no room for Suarez if the organization decides to call-up Andrew Painter. This would be money spent on something they don’t need when there are bigger holes that need to be filled. In an obvious decision they should let Max Kepler walk. He was the worst starting hitter on the Phillies and an easy hole to fill. Lastly, let Walker Buehler walk, as he only started 2 games for the Phillies last season and they already have an elite rotation. Players like Nick Castellanos and Brandon Marsh aren’t free agents, but neither should be on the team next season. It has been long enough to have dealt with Nick Castellanos’ boneheaded first-pitch swings, and Marsh just is simply nothing special, as he is an average hitter and fielder that doesn’t provide a significant boost to the roster.

Moving on from free Phillies free agents, I believe they should pursue and sign Cubs outfielder Kyle Tucker. He is a spectacular hitter who has playoff experience from when he was formerly on the Astros, when they beat the Phillies in the 2022 World Series. Tucker would go to right field to replace Kepler and Castellanos in right field. Another player who the Phillies should sign is Padres relief pitcher Robert Suarez. Suarez would be the perfect setup man for Duran to close out games and would strengthen the biggest weakness on the team.

So in my opinion, I believe that the Phillies’ 2026 starting lineup should be Bryce Harper at 1B, Bryson Stott at 2B, Trea Turner at SS, Alec Bohm at 3B, Kyle Tucker at RF, Harrison Bader at CF, Justin Crawford at LF, JT Realmuto at catcher, and Kyle Schwarber at DH. The starting pitching rotation should be Zack Wheeler, Christopher Sanchez, Jesus Luzardo, Aaron Nola, and Andrew Painter. The bullpen should consist of Jose Alvarado, Jhoan Duran, Robert Suarez, Matt Strahm, Orion Kerkering, Taijuan Walker, and more small pieces from within the organization. 

These changes would result in a different Phillies team while keeping the main core veterans. Hopefully with these changes, the Phillies can avenge the past three seasons by finally getting back to their 2022 World Series ways.