The Philadelphia Phillies are currently second in the NL East Division.
Their 18-20 record isn’t good, but the calendar still marks May 20: a lot of baseball will be played.
The problem is that Phyllis has already fallen into a big hole.
They are seven games behind the New York Mets in the standings as of Friday afternoon.
In addition, they have a major problem with Bryce Harper’s elbow injury.
The outfielder has a partially torn elbow ligament and cannot throw.
Since he cannot throw, he cannot play in the outfield for more than a month and is confined to the designated heater spot.
This is less than ideal because it forces the Phillies to play bad defenders like Kyle Schwarber, Nick Castellanos and Alec Bohm just to keep their bats in lineup.
Phyllis has to take advantage of a unique opportunity
Still, the season is extremely young, and the Mets have some injury questions of their own that give the Phillies some hope.
“Max Scherzer has hit the DL and will probably be out for the next 2 months. If Phyllis wants to return to the NL East race, now is the time, “Phyllis insider John Stolnis tweeted.
Max Scherzer has hit the DL and will probably be out for the next 2 months. If Phyllis wants to return to the NL East race, now is the time.
– John Stolnis (6 John Stolnis) May 20, 2022
The next two months will be crucial for Phyllis (and the rest of the NL East).
If they can’t catch the Mets, or at least erase some of the differences, when Scherzer and associate ACE Jacob deGrom are on the injured list, they probably won’t be able to do that when they return to the New York rotating title.
Of course, they can always deal with some trades before the deadline, but they do not have the resources to move.
Time, for them, now.