Phillies Head Into an Offseason Full of Hard Questions
PHILADELPHIA — The Phillies’ season ended Oct. 1 with a 6-2 loss to Atlanta in the deciding game of the wild-card round. The offseason questions started immediately.
Bryce Harper expects big changes. “I’d imagine this team is going to look a lot different next year with the guys that are leaving this clubhouse,” he said after the elimination.
Seven players from the 2026 roster are set for free agency, according to NBC Sports Philadelphia: Alec Bohm, Luis Arraez, Adolis Garcia, Edmundo Sosa, Jose Alvarado, Brooks Raley and Tim Mayza.
The biggest question is in the dugout. The Phillies fired Rob Thomson in April, and interim manager Don Mattingly steadied the team into the postseason. But The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported Mattingly was likely to be replaced without a deep playoff run.
Mattingly would not discuss his future after the final game. “It’s not the time to talk about anything like that,” he said. “I want the Phillies to do what they need to do.”
Philadelphia finished 88-74, second in the NL East and its worst record since 2022. Harper, under contract through 2031, is not going anywhere.
But with an unsettled manager’s chair and a third of the roster hitting the market, the winter will define what comes next.