Did the Phillies Miss the Boat on a Potential Rebuild?

The Philadelphia Phillies are surely playoff hopefuls ahead of the MLB trade deadline, but they look absolutely nothing like World Series contenders.

Nothing short of a trade for Tarik Skubal — which appears incredibly unlikely — could alter the Phillies' trajectory so much this season that they would suddenly be a legitimate threat to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In fact, Philadelphia is probably not even as good as its record indicates.

Throughout the Phillies' torrid stretch in May and June, we all saw the problems. The lineup was thin, the starting rotation lacked depth and the bullpen was shaky. But Philadelphia found ways to win games, much of which had to do with luck.

But now, the Phillies sit in a rather unenviable position with the deadline looming, and unless they make numerous roster re-shaping moves before next Monday, they might not even make the postseason.

And it really makes you wonder: should Philadelphia have kicked off a rebuild — or at least a quasi-rebuild — during the offseason?

The Phillies opted to re-sign both Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto in free agency. The Schwarber move was understandable. He is a nightmare for opposing pitchers. But Realmuto? Not so much.

Realmuto had his worst year since his first full big-league campaign last year. He's been even worse this season, having entered Friday night's action with a .659 OPS. His defense has also fallen like a rock, which started to become obvious several years ago.

The three-year, $45 million contract Philadelphia handed Realmuto now looks like a mistake, and so does running it back with roughly the same ballclub as last year. You know, the one the Dodgers torched in the NLDS.

The Phillies won 95-plus games in both 2024 and 2025. Their playoff appearances ended in the same result both times: early exits.

Even the most diehard Philly fan can look at this roster and see all of the holes, and you know what? The fanbase identified them over the winter, as well.

There is a serious chance that the Phillies aren't playing October baseball this year, and that would almost certainly trigger some sweeping changes — including a potential Bryce Harper trade.

You have to ask yourself: did Philadelphia miss the chance to possibly move the obviously disgruntled Harper before the 2026 campaign? Should the Phils have floated him on the market to see what was there?

Not that trading Harper would be easy given his contract, but perhaps the Phillies should have at least looked around.

Philadelphia was definitely a bit naive — maybe even a bit careless — to think that adding Adolis Garcia and Brad Keller, both of whom are now out for the season, would be enough to bolster the club's World Series chances this year.

Maybe the aging Phillies should have tried to get younger last winter instead of doubling down on a flawed roster that is clearly declining.

And if Philadelphia flames out over these next two months, then perhaps the Phillies will do that this coming offseason ... but a year too late.