Philadelphia Phillies They finished the 2024 season similarly to how they finished 2023, as one of MLB’s most disappointing teams.

Hopes were high for the Phillies, who entered the year with the best roster in the sport on paper.

The roster is comprised of superstars like Bryce Harper (a future Hall of Famer), Kyle Schwarber (one of the best in the sport at walks), and Trea Turner (one of the fastest in the sport), and the rotation includes Zack Wheeler (the best pitcher in the sport over the last five years ), plenty of aces like Aaron Nola (an excellent workhorse) and Ranger Suarez (the third-best starter in baseball), but it was still an early exit from the playoffs.

This time, it was even earlier than in 2023, when Philadelphia failed to make it out of the first round and was defeated. New York Mets in four games.

While many people like to point out that the break between the regular season and the Division Series is an issue for teams earning byes in the Wild Card round, the rest of the league has proven time and time again that it has no impact, including two teams. World Series teams that later faced the same break And Heading to the World Series.

However, despite the early exit, Joel Reuter Bleach Report The latest iteration of the MLB Power Rankings ranks the Phillies highly, as everyone should, placing the team in third place, behind only two World Series teams.

Despite the high ranking, Reuter is skeptical about how the team will perform as its stars continue to age.

“This is quickly becoming a stale squad, and with most of its stars still in their prime, the window to winning a championship with this group is starting to close,” Reuter writes. “This should add a sense of urgency to the roster.” “There are complementary moves they need to make this summer.”

Despite being an older lineup, only Turner has shown signs of slowing down, and that’s only come at shortstop, not the base routes.

This offseason will be a huge testing ground for Philadelphia; Philadelphia will have to push hard to reach the top of the free agent market, especially Juan Soto.

Even if the pieces added this winter are merely “supplementary,” the team still has one of the best rosters in the sport on paper, and the window for contention isn’t closing as quickly as some expected.