After Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner suffered a Grade 1 hamstring strain, many expected the injury to be the beginning of the team’s infamous late-season stumble as the Phillies were, at the time, still looking to clinch a playoff berth. However, these 2025 Phillies, in typical fashion, refuse to go down without a fight, with every player on the roster seeming to toe the line.
After continuously rewriting the narrative of what success can look like, these Phillies have successfully overcome any adversity thrown in their way. In the nine games since Turner went down, the Phillies have scored 6.8 runs per game, en route to an 8-1 record. Over that span, they lead the majors in hits (89), runs (61), home runs (19), batting average (.298), on-base percentage (.368) and slugging percentage (.555).
While the absences from the team’s big league club are noted, they are not felt beyond their names being omitted from the lineup card, given how well the team has performed in the wake of some of its biggest stars being sidelined due to injury. The Zack Wheeler news was a devastating blow, but the Turner injury was the real turning point in the latter half of this season. Many began to doubt the Phillies yet again, as they expected to head into their fourth consecutive postseason without one of their most consistent, almost historic, bats.
Phillies’ heart in late-season push optimistically reminiscent of 2022 underdogs
This Phillies team has taken the “next man up” mantra to a whole other level. Much like how the trio of Christopher Sánchez, Ranger Suárez and Jesús Luzardo rose to the occasion after the announcement of Zack Wheeler’s season-ending thoracic outlet syndrome, some of the Phillies’ “deeper cuts” have been the backbone of this team as they head to the postseason. With the Phillies’ healthy stars aligning and the outfield platoon starting to gel, regardless of who is on the roster, this team is hungry.
The most important name on everyone’s mind when hearing the theme of this season, however, should be none other than the Phillies’ super-utility man, Edmundo Sosa. After having filled in at shortstop in Turner’s absence before the beginning of the 2024 season, he got the call once more, before heading to the 10-day IL.
This year, Sosa was red-hot to begin the season. While he’s no longer posting a .600 batting average, his improved discipline at the plate has proven highly successful, as he is still producing a .270 average with seven home runs and 33 RBIs in just 85 games played.
While Sosa’s aggressiveness at the plate can easily be detected by opposing starters with this increased amount of playing time, Sosa’s clutch situational awareness and defensive versatility have allowed him to play essentially anywhere on the field whenever there’s an absence, with both third base and shortstop conveniently being where he’s most comfortable, providing manager Rob Thomson with one of, if not the most, reliable utility men in the game.
The second name to root for, even if it’s not because of gametime production, is Garrett Stubbs. Outside the team’s stars, there are a few players who have been with the club since the days before that franchise-defining run in 2022. All season, it has felt like the one thing missing from that previous team wasn’t anything to do with their production, but everything to do with the heart that had been missing in the clubhouse.
Stubbs, who spent the majority of this season in Lehigh Valley until September call-ups, always seems to bring energy to his teammates. While not necessarily impacting the outcome of each game with his play, his presence around Citizens Bank Park has been greatly missed, and that “Stubby swag” could be the extra push the Phillies need to finish the job they sought four postseasons ago.
