Outstanding Free Agent Acquisitions Lead Philadelphia Phillies To The World Series

SportsMoney Outstanding Free Agent Acquisitions Lead Philadelphia Phillies To The World Series Bernie Pleskoff Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. I provide expertise through the eyes of a professional baseball scout Following New! Follow this author to stay notified about their latest stories. Got it! Oct 25, 2022, 09:31am EDT | New! Click on the conversation bubble to join the conversation Got it! Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter Bryce Harper celebrates with the trophy after winning the .

. . [+] baseball NL Championship Series in Game 5 against the San Diego Padres on Sunday, Oct.

23, 2022, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum) Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved The Philadelphia Phillies finished the regular season with a record of 87-75, which landed them in third place in the highly competitive National League East Division.

The Atlanta Braves and New York Mets both finished ahead of the Phillies with identical 101-61 records. The Braves won the division as a result of their better record in games against the Mets. All three teams; the Braves, the Mets and the Phillies made it to the National League postseason.

In Wild Card rounds, the San Diego Padres, the No. 5 seed, knocked out the No. 4 seed Mets.

The Phillies, the sixth and last seed of the National League playoff teams, took out the 2021 World Champion Atlanta Braves. After defeating the San Diego Padres, 4-1 in the National League Championship Series, the Phillies are headed to the World Series. The Phillies will face the Houston Astros, who swept the New York Yankees in their American League Championship Series.

Philadelphia Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber in action during the second baseball game of a doubleheader . . .

[+] against the Washington Nationals, Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass) Copyright 2022 The Associated Press.

All rights reserved. About the Phillies: The Phillies are owned by a limited partnership group that was established in 1981. John Middleton is the Managing Partner and Chief Executive Officer.

MORE FOR YOU They Inherited Billions Upon Billions: Meet America’s Richest Heirs Billionaire No More: Kanye West’s Anti-Semitism Obliterates His Net Worth As Adidas Cuts Ties A $4 Billion Ohio RIA Who ‘Looks Through The Noise’ And Loves Dividends Phillies President of Baseball Operations, David Dombrowski, assumed his role in 2020. Including the Florida Marlins, the Detroit Tigers, and the Boston Red Sox, the Phillies are the fourth team Dombrowski has taken to a World Series. According to Fangraphs.

com, the Phillies 2022 estimated player payroll is $242M, or $45M greater than the estimated 2021 team payroll. Based on the MLB Luxury Tax system, the Phillies will be paying a penalty for exceeding the first of four MLB tax thresholds. If a team exceeds $230M in payroll, the first of four tax levels is applied.

The levels are $230M, $250M, $270M, and $290M. Remarkably, five players acquired by the Phillies in free agency are responsible for $100,538,462 of this year’s team’s payroll. Outfielder/Designated Hitter Bryce Harper signed a 13-year, $130M contract that extends from 2019-2031.

Pitcher Zack Wheeler signed a 5-year, $118M contract that runs from 2020-2024. Outfielder Nick Castellanos is signed to a 5-year, $100M contract from 2022-2026. Outfielder Kyle Schwarber’s 4-year contract is for $79M and runs from 2022-2025.

Reliever Brad Hand signed a 1-year contract in 2022 for $6M. The Phillies have always been an important, major market MLB franchise. This year, according to ESPN.

com, the team drew 2,276,736 to Citizens Bank Park, averaging 28,459 per game. That ranked 16th among the 30 MLB clubs. Philadelphia Phillies’ Rhys Hoskins celebrates his two-run home run during the third inning in Game .

. . [+] 5 of the baseball NL Championship Series between the San Diego Padres and the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday, Oct.

23, 2022, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum) Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved Phillies Playoff Lineup: The Phillies most commonly used lineup during the playoffs has been: Kyle Schwarber-LF-Age 28 (free-agent signing) Rhys Hoskins-1B-Age 29 (drafted by Phillies) J.

T. Realmuto-C-Age 31 (acquired by trade from Miami Marlins) Bryce Harper-DH-Age 30 (free-agent signing) Nick Castellanos-RF-Age 30 (free-agent signing) Alex Bohm-3B-Age 26 (drafted by Phillies) Bryson Stott-SS-Age 25 (drafted by Phillies) Jean Segura-2B-Age 32 (acquired in trade from Seattle Mariners) Brandon Marsh-CF-Age 24 (acquired in trade from Los Angeles Angels) The three starters likely to be used in the World Series include: Zack Wheeler-RHP Age 32 (free-agent signing) Aaron Nola-RHP Age 29 (drafted by Phillies) Ranger Suarez LHP Age 27 (International free-agent from Venezuela) Impressive Offensive Statistics: The Phillies offense hit 205 home runs, ranking them 6th in Major League Baseball. The Phillies World Series opponent, the Houston Astros, hit 214 homers, good for 4th place overall.

The teams are very close in that important power statistic. The Phillies were led by Kyle Schwarber, who hit 46 homers, second only to Aaron Judge, who hit 62 for the New York Yankees. Schwarber knocked in 94 runs, highest on the team.

He also struck out 200 times in 577 at-bats. He struck out more than anyone in baseball. Rhys Hoskins hit 30 homers, and J.

T. Realmuto added 22. Injuries limited Bryce Harper to playing only 99 games.

He hit 18 homers in 370 plate appearances. During the postseason to date, Harper and Hoskins have each hit five homers in their 11 games. Harper has hit .

419/. 444/. 907/1.

351 in his 44 at-bats so far in the postseason. With his team trailing in the bottom of the 8th inning in Game 5 of the National League Division Series against the Padres, Harper hit a two-run homer to give his team a lead they never relinquished. Harper was named the National League Championship Series Most Valuable Player.

The Phillies scored 747 runs during the regular season, ranking them 7th in baseball. By contrast, the Houston Astros scored 737 runs, landing them one spot behind Philadelphia. Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Zack Wheeler throws during the first inning in Game 5 of the .

. . [+] baseball NL Championship Series between the San Diego Padres and the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday, Oct.

23, 2022, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson) Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved Phillies Pitching: The Phillies have a balanced team, with capable pitching to match their solid offense.

Overall, the Phillies offense will be facing a formidable and deep Houston Astros pitching staff in the World Series. However, if Houston has any advantage, it might be in the depth and quality of their starting rotation. The Phillies will likely use the following three starters in the World Series: Zack Wheeler-RHP-Age 32 Aaron Nola-RHP-Age 29 Ranger Suarez-LHP-Age 27 If an additional starter or “bullpen” game is needed, the team can turn to: Bailey Falter-LHP-Age 25 Noah Syndergaard-RHP-Age 30 Kyle Gibson-RHP-Age 35 Phillies manager Rob Thomson, who earned a new, two-year contract, has a balanced bullpen that relies on RHP Seranthony Dominguez and LHP Jose Alvarado as their closers.

He also has veterans, including right-hander David Robertson, and lefty Brad Hand to use as set-up men. Both have closed games in their careers. The Phillies finished the season 18th in Earned Run Average, pitching to a 3.

97 ERA in 1428. 1 innings. In contrast, the Houston Astros 2.

90 ERA was second best in baseball. The Phillies yielded 685 runs, or 167 more than the Astros, who threw 17 more innings. The Phillies will be facing a strong hitting Astros team.

Phillies pitchers yielded 150 home runs during the season, which placed them fifth best among the 30 big league clubs in that statistic. The Astros gave up 134, good for second best in MLB. For comparison sake, the Washington Nationals yielded 244 home runs, the most in baseball.

Conclusions: The 2022 World Series begins October 28 in Houston. All games will be on FOX TV. The schedule of the Series is as follows: October 28-at Houston October 29-at Houston October 31-at Philadelphia November 1- at Philadelphia November 2-at Philadelphia (if needed) November 4-at Houston (if needed) November 5-at Houston (if needed) The Philadelphia Phillies haven’t appeared in the postseason since 2011, when they lost the National League Division Series, 3-2 to the St.

Louis Cardinals. To this writer, it is the offensive jolt provided by free agent acquisitions Kyle Schwarber, Nick Castellanos and Bryce Harper that have launched the Philadelphia Phillies to their first World Series appearance since 2009, when they lost to the New York Yankees, 4-2. The Phillies team can hit.

They can hit for power, and they can provide the timely base hit that can ignite a rally. As they face the Houston Astros in the World Series, they may not have enough pitching depth to match the offensive firepower of the Astros. That said, the Phillies have climbed over division rivals including the Atlanta Braves and the New York Mets, and the National League West San Diego Padres to claim their chance to take home MLB’s greatest prize-a World Series Championship.

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