In sports, you only get so many shots at doing something special. This Philadelphia Phillies core appears to have run out of theirs.
The Phillies slinked away into the offseason on Thursday, falling 6-2 to the Atlanta Braves in Game 3 of the NL Wild Card Series. Despite going to every new and old trick at their disposal, the Phillies weren't able to find any answer in their desperation against the much more sound, much more reliable Braves.
This Phillies era has been defined by big spending and big expectations, with uneven results. They announced their intention to contend in 2019 when they stole away Bryce Harper from the NL East rival Washington Nationals, and have been a factor in the National League pennant picture ever since. But with only one World Series trip in that timeframe, the window might already be closed.
The saddest part is, the Phillies don't seem to realize it -- or if they do, they're afraid to say it.
Following the Game 3 loss, Harper called this season's squad "a brand new team," which is only true so far as every team, every year, is technically a new version of the one before. The truth was, this group was largely led by the same key figures of the past half-decade: Harper, J.T. Realmuto, Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler, Bryson Stott, Kyle Schwarber and, yes, even Alec Bohm. Trea Turner and Cristopher Sanchez are newer members of that core, but both have been central pieces since 2023. Even role players Brandon Marsh and Edmundo Sosa have spent more than four seasons in South Philly.
The reality is that this was not a new team -- it's an old team, in more ways than one. Harper, Schwarber, Turner and Nola are 34. Wheeler is 37 and at the end of his contract. Realmuto is 36 and looked every bit his age this season. Even Sanchez, 30, and Stott, 29, are nearing the end of their primes.
As the saying goes, they ain't getting any younger. Schwarber, Turner, Harper, Nola and Sanchez all are signed through at least 2030 at sizable salaries, putting a lot of pressure on the likes of Andrew Painter and Justin Crawford to become the type of franchise-carrying players they might not be. There isn't much trade flexibility with late-30s veterans on $20 million-plus contracts, so the only players likely to move on are those like Stott who are precisely the younger, cheaper, more productive talent the team needs.
Plenty of teams have had as much talent as this Phillies group and done less. Others have had less talent and accomplished more. To not have a World Series trophy to show for their years of questing for one isn't necessarily a failure, but it might be a reality it's time to accept.