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The Philadelphia Phillies are finishing a season that was one of the last two teams in baseball.
Also seeing an aggressive approach to free agency has made this team better throughout the offseason.
So why did MLB.com rank the Phillies 6th in its recent power rankings?
This seems like a grave disrespect to the Phillies team that shocked the league with its postseason run last season.
It makes sense for the Astros to sit first, especially after signing Jose Abreu in the offseason.
They are very good again and could win the American League.
But it seems outrageous that the Mets are outstripping the Phillies.
New York won 101 games last season and was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.
Whatever the expectations are for the Mets preseason, they don’t seem to be able to meet them.
The Mets had a strong offseason, adding Justin Verlander, Jose Quintana, and possibly Carlos Correa (his contract is still pending).
But before you can make the Mets the second best team in baseball, you have to see it with the Mets first.
The Phillies also rank behind the two teams they lost in the playoffs, the San Diego Padres and the Atlanta Braves.
San Diego got Xander Bogaerts and the Braves got Sean Murphy, but neither should beat the Phillies.
The only reasonable explanation for the Phillies being so low is that Bryce Harper will miss the first few months of the season.
Without their best hitters, it may be difficult for the Phillies to score consistently early in the year.
But Trea Turner can provide a similar spark to the lineup as Harper.
The Phillies team will once again be contending for the NL pennant and should be high on the 2023 power rankings.
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