The Philadelphia Phillies have gotten off to a good start this season and they're not even close to playing their best baseball yet. The pitching staff with Jesus Luzardo, Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sánchez, and others have been dominant, aside from Aaron Nola.
The bullpen has been streaky and will be even worse over the next few months because of José Alvarado's 80-game PED suspension. And the lineup has seen mediocre performances across the board. Alec Bohm hasn't found his swing this season. JT Realmuto has struggled at the plate. There are plenty of stars who are still looking to get going this season.
Despite all this, the Phillies are one of the top teams in baseball and they may only get better as the season goes on, especially if they improve their roster before June 1.
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Max Lazar's days with Phillies might be numbered
There aren't many players on the Phillies' active roster who are at risk of losing their job this season. This team has been built from the ground up, not leaving much room on the roster for wasted space.
But one player who will likely end up down in the minor leagues in the coming weeks is pitcher Max Lazar. Lazar has thrown in one game this season, allowing two runs over two innings. Last season, he allowed seven runs over 13 2/3 innings. The righty has practically been an innings eater for the Phillies, and they won't need him on the roster in the coming weeks.
Once Nola is activated from the injured list, Lazar will probably be the guy to be optioned. Nola has struggled tremendously this season but given his contract and previous success, he'll have a spot in the rotation.
If Nola isn't activated soon, the Phillies could turn to Mick Abel to come back to the big leagues. Despite a rocky road in the minor leagues, Abel was absolutely dominant in his big league debut last week. Even top prospect Andrew Painter could earn a big league job in the next few weeks if he continues to dominate after Tommy John surgery.
Either way, it's hard to imagine Lazar being on this roster for too much longer.