Philadelphia Phillies fans worried this would happen.
When the Philadelphia Phillies signed Adolis Garcia to be a starting outfielder, fans immediately expressed concern.
Was this really the route the Phillies wanted to go? After all, Garcia had just been non-tendered by the Texas Rangers after posting a .665 OPS in 2025.
The addition of Garcia to essentially plug an outfield hole with tape and bubble gum was a clear indication to the Philadelphia faithful that the team was not going to be spending big money over the winter.
Sure enough, the Phillies mostly stood pat. Yes, they attempted to make a move for Bo Bichette, but the former Toronto Blue Jays slugger opted to sign with the New York Mets (in hindsight, maybe that was a good thing).
But Garcia's start to the 2026 campaign has been nothing short of subpar and encapsulates the Phillies' 8-14 start as a whole.
Garcia is slashing just .208/.303/.338 with a couple of home runs and five RBI over 89 plate appearances thus far. He has already struck out 25 times, and he owns a minus-1 DRS in the right field.
Now 33 years old, Garcia is not the same defensive savant he once was in the outfield, and with his bat clearly declining, as well, it's looking like Philadelphia's decision to sign him to a one-year, $10 million contract was a blunder.
So was the Phillies' decision to basically run it back with the same team as last year.
Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Adolis Garcia. Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images.Philadelphia posted back-to-back 95-win campaigns in 2024 and 2025, so there is no question that the Phillies had been one of the best teams in baseball during that stretch. But they also lost in the NLDS both times.
It was clear that Philly needed upgrades if it were seriously going to challenge the seemingly unstoppable Los Angeles Dodgers ... or to repeat as NL East champions.
Instead, Philadelphia decided to play the payroll game, which, from a business perspective, is understandable. But we also can't sit here and pretend that the Phillies were ever truly built for a 2026 World Series run in their current form.
It's still early in the season, but these losses count. Just ask the Mets, who are suffering through the cruelest version of baseball hell.
Philadelphia can try to make some trades to patch some holes, but good luck convincing any teams to trade impactful players in April. Especially with so many more clubs being in playoff contention these days.
Garcia is far from the only problem with the Phillies. In fact, he definitely isn't even the biggest one. But he does epitomize everything that has gone wrong for Philadelphia the past five or six months.
It starts at the top, and Phillies fans had every right to be concerned.
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