The Philadelphia Phillies came into the 2026 MLB season with a real chance of making another deep postseason run, even with the roster mostly back together. But they started very poorly, getting Rob Thomson fired.

Since then, they’ve fought back into the postseason race and seemingly had a good chance of getting into the playoffs. But now, there’s some doubt creeping in about how the club has struggled.

So, when Bleacher Report’s Zachary D. Rymer predicted that the Phillies would miss the playoffs entirely, while a terrible prediction for the Phillies, but it’s unfortunately realistic.

Phillies get unfortunate but realistic playoff prediction

“The Philadelphia Phillies will miss the playoffs,” Rymer predicts. “… Yet the Phillies do have one major disadvantage, in that their remaining strength of schedule is harder than those of Arizona and San Diego: Philadelphia Phillies: .502, San Diego Padres: .499, Arizona Diamondbacks: .496.”

Rymer is predicting the Phillies will miss the playoffs, and their tougher strength of schedule certainly won’t help them in pursuit of the postseason compared to their top competition.

But it’s even worse than that, as since the All-Star break, the Padres and Diamondbacks have been playing much better baseball. The Padres are 16-9, and the Diamondbacks are 15-10 since the break. The Phillies are just 10-14.

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Before Wednesday’s game, August 12, the Phillies are tied with a .529 record and a 64-57 record with the Padres and Diamondbacks.

They’re already on the brink of losing their postseason spot. They really need to turn things around soon; otherwise, the playoffs are legitimately a question mark.

The bullpen needs to be managed better by Don Mattingly, and the Phillies need to hit better with runners on base, especially following their infuriating four-double-play outing against the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night.

Phillies fans should be concerned about the club right now. This prediction from Rymer, in which the Phillies miss the playoffs, might seem bold at first glance, but it’s actually realistic.

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