There’s a difference between having a good lineup and having one that can actually make a difference in a big moment. For the Philadelphia Phillies, it seems like they're somewhere in the middle of that. There have been times when the Phillies' offense is among the best in baseball, and others when they're striking out too much and are one of the worst in Major League Baseball.
Unfortunately for Philadelphia, it didn't go out and do what was needed during the offseason once again. This unfortunately seems like something we've said far too many times about Dave Dombrowski, and it's something that many believe will be their biggest regret come October.
Tim Kelly of Bleacher Report thinks the Phillies' not going out to get a middle-of-the-lineup bat will come back to haunt them.
“Though the trio of Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper hasn't gotten out of the gates quickly, you're pretty confident they'll get going,” Kelly wrote. “The Phillies also have quite a few options you're comfortable with hitting somewhere in the six through nine spots in the lineup…
“The problem for the Phillies, as has been the case for much of this era, is having another run producer or two to hit behind their core lineup trio. They're paying Nick Castellanos $19.22 million this season to play elsewhere, as he largely failed to be the middle-of-the-order bat the Phillies hoped for over the last three seasons.”
It wasn't that the Phillies didn't try, as reports had indicated that they were interested in Bo Bichette, who eventually took a deal with the New York Mets.
Still, instead of pivoting after that loss, the Phillies really just added Adolis Garcia, who, in his own right, is a great player, but has struggled a good bit over the past few years. Garcia has been fine this season with a .250 average, but he's also struck out 12 times already in 44 at-bats.
“The Phillies nearly added another big bat in free agency this offseason in the form of Bo Bichette, but the Mets swooped in at the last second and signed him instead.”