Atlanta Braves 2021 NL East Rivals: what did the Phillies do this Winter?

Hitting Time

POSITION PLAYERS

A couple of their bench/depth moves (Matt Joyce, Brad Miller) are designed to spell Andrew McCutchen better.  Other than that, there’s really isn’t a lot of change from 2020… and this club has shown the ability to put up some runs.

That said, they still will have some defensive issues, though it’s hard to suggest that this would be “2020 bad” again.

The majority of the roster is simply ‘a year older’ and you can’t really count on offensive performance improvements, but simply maintaining their hitting would be sufficient.  The big changes needed to happen on the pitching side anyway.

If they can indeed turn that around, then this club will be in the mix for a wild card berth.  So while there are a bunch of people thinking Philadelphia finishes a distant 4th place… it might not be nearly so distant.

Phillies Outlook

PROJECTIONS:

• DraftKings Nation:  80.5 wins
• Superbook.com:  80.5
• PECOTA (which is a fantasy):  82.8
• Fangraphs:  79.9

Personally, I have a bit more concern about this club, and I believe they could be in the range of 84-85 wins based on bullpen improvements alone.

Like many teams, though, health will be a big issue.  If Realmuto, Harper, or Hoskins get hurt their offense will suffer.  If their starters can’t handle the increased innings, that will likewise be a problem.

On balance, though, the Philadelphia Phillies could be a difficult opponent for many this year.  The Atlanta Braves will see them a lot early in the season and they’d better be ready.

In fact, that starts right away with the Braves’ opening series of the year being in Philadelphia and their Citizen’s Bank Park.  Go get ’em, boys!