The Philadelphia Phillies have had their ups and downs, but the New York Mets' collapse has them 5.5 games ahead of their arch-rivals for first place in the NL East as of this writing. There's still another month and a half to go in the regular season, but the Phillies have to like where they're at right now.
While the vibes are certainly in a good place right now, this Phillies team still has a ton of room to grow. Whether it's by promoting top prospect Justin Crawford to the majors or activating several players off the injured and/or restricted list, the Phillies have ways they can get better before September rolls around.
Assuming the Phillies do make additions to their roster, these three players feel like locks to be off the roster in some capacity by the time September begins.
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3) Weston Wilson, INF/OF
Alec Bohm has been sidelined since mid-July with a rib fracture, but he's expected to return from the injured list sometime in August. When he returns, the Phillies will have a difficult decision to make.
Bohm will be the team's everyday third baseman when he returns, thus creating a platoon at second base with Edmundo Sosa and Bryson Stott, and creating a competition for who will platoon with Max Kepler in left field. Both Otto Kemp and Weston Wilson have spent time in that role this season, and while Wilson has performed well since his recall after the All-Star break, it'd be tough for them to send Kemp back down to Triple-A.
Kemp's overall numbers might not be stellar, but he's slashing .268/.362/.463 with two of his four big league home runs against southpaws this season. His .825 OPS against lefties suggests he'd be an ideal platoon partner with Kepler, and Wilson simply hasn't outperformed him this season. Of course, things can change, but until Wilson sticks out over Kemp, he feels like the odd-man out.
2) Max Lazar, relief pitcher
All of a sudden, the Phillies' bullpen has gone from a weakness to a potential strength. Jose Alvarado's return from the restricted list is bound to only make that strength even stronger. Alvarado won't be on the team's postseason roster, and there are questions about how he'll perform after his PED suspension, but he'll get a chance to pitch down the stretch for the Phillies regardless, forcing Philadelphia to send someone down. Max Lazar is an easy candidate to be that guy.
Lazar's 4.55 ERA in 25 appearances this season might not stick out, but six of the 14 earned runs he's given up in his 27.2 innings of work came in one brutal appearance against the Chicago White Sox. Obviously, there's no excuse for an outing that lackluster, but that shows that for the most part, Lazar has been rock-solid, albeit almost entirely in low-leverage situations.
Lazar is one of four Phillies relievers who can be optioned, and Philadelphia won't be demoting any of Jhoan Duran, Orion Kerkering or Tanner Banks to make room for Alvarado. Sending him down is the easiest and most logical move they can make when Alvarado is ready to go on August 19.
1) Joe Ross, relief pitcher
Alvarado isn't the only Phillies pitcher nearing a return. Aaron Nola has been on the Injured List since mid-May, and he might only need one more rehab start before returning to Philadelphia's rotation. An already clear strength will get that much better if Nola is at or near 100 percent.
Nola's return will likely demote remove Taijuan Walker from the rotation, but Walker has pitched so well to the point where he should not be considered a DFA candidate at this point. Instead, a member of the bullpen who has not pitched well, Joe Ross, should be considered a DFA candidate.
The Phillies signed Ross to a deal over the offseason coming off a solid 2024 campaign hoping he could be a productive long reliever for them, but as his 5.16 ERA in 32 appearances and 45.1 innings of work would indicate, things haven't gone so well for the veteran right-hander.
Reliever ERA isn't everything, but Ross has allowed at least one run in half of his last 12 appearances (6.23 ERA in that stretch) and his 16.7 percent strikeout rate is a career-low in a season in which he's thrown more than 16 innings. Walker can fill the long reliever role, so the Phillies have little incentive to keep Ross around much longer.