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Philadelphia Phillies: 3 players who need to step up for rest of the season

By Sam Wagman

PHILADELPHIA, PA - AUGUST 28: Scott Kingery #42 of the Philadelphia Phillies celebrates with his teammates after hitting a walk-off three run home run in the bottom of the eleventh inning against the Atlanta Braves at Citizens Bank Park on August 28, 2020 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. All players are wearing #42 in honor of Jackie Robinson Day. The day honoring Jackie Robinson, traditionally held on April 15, was rescheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Phillies defeated the Braves 7-4. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - AUGUST 28: Scott Kingery #42 of the Philadelphia Phillies celebrates with his teammates after hitting a walk-off three run home run in the bottom of the eleventh inning against the Atlanta Braves at Citizens Bank Park on August 28, 2020 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. All players are wearing #42 in honor of Jackie Robinson Day. The day honoring Jackie Robinson, traditionally held on April 15, was rescheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Phillies defeated the Braves 7-4. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /
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Who needs to step up in order for the Philadelphia Phillies to make the playoffs?

The Philadelphia Phillies got off to a bit of a slow start this year, but one thing is very clear: in a season this short, anything is in play, and almost no team is out. Such is the case with the Phillies, as they currently have a 14-14 record and are in the midst of a 5-game win streak, something they haven’t done since wayyyy back in mid-2018.

This streak coincidentally falls in line with the one thing that has plagued the team for the entire season: shoddy bullpen work, in which 6 of their 14 losses this year have been attributed to, mostly from blowing a late lead. The Phillies have done what they can to avoid this. They went out and designated multiple relievers for assignment, and traded for some bullpen help, which has worked decently so far.

The team traded for former AL East relievers Brandon Workman, Heath Hembree, and David Hale (who has yet to appear for some odd reason), called up veteran Blake Parker, and called up exciting rookie left-hander JoJo Romero. While still ranking as one of the worst bullpens in the MLB, they’ve progressively started to improve as of late.

At the end of the day, this roster is not only near the best the in the NL, but it is a offensive weapon among the entire MLB. J.T. Realmuto and Bryce Harper are at the top of their games right now, and this team is primed to make a playoff push. To do that, though, a few players (including Harper) will have to step up and carry this team on their backs to get into the playoffs in this shortened season.

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