2023 Philadelphia Phillies season

The 2023 Philadelphia Phillies season was the 141st season in the history of the franchise, and its 20th season at Citizens Bank Park. They entered the season as the defending National League champions and runners-up of the World Series.

On September 26, the Phillies clinched a playoff berth for the second consecutive season and they defeated the Miami Marlins in the NLWCS. They defeated the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS in four games and advanced to the NLCS where they lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks in seven games.

Players becoming free agents

 * Corey Knebel – Elected free agency on November 6, 2022.
 * Chris Devenski – Agreed to a minor-league deal with the Los Angeles Angels on November 28, 2022.
 * Kyle Gibson – Signed a one-year, $10 million contract with the Baltimore Orioles on December 5, 2022.
 * David Robertson – Signed a one-year, $10 million contract with the New York Mets on December 9, 2022.
 * Noah Syndergaard – Signed a one-year, $13 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers on December 16, 2022.
 * Brad Hand – Elected free agency on November 6, 2022.
 * Zach Eflin – Signed a three-year, $40 million contract with the Tampa Bay Rays on December 13, 2022.
 * Jean Segura – Agreed to two-year, $17 million deal with the Miami Marlins on December 28, 2022.

Free agent acquisitions
The first major move from the Phillies came on December 8, 2022, when they signed shortstop Trea Turner to an eleven-year, $300 million contract.

After the blockbuster Turner deal, the Phillies spent the rest of December upgrading their pitching after losing several key pieces to free agency. On December 9, 2022, they signed left-hander Matt Strahm to a two-year, $15 million contract. A week later, they signed right-hander Taijuan Walker for four years on a $72 million contract.


 * Jake Cave – Claimed off of waivers on December 2, 2022
 * Trea Turner – Signed an 11-year, $300 million contract on December 8, 2022
 * Matt Strahm – Signed a 2-year, $15 million contract on December 9, 2022
 * Taijuan Walker – Signed a 4-year, $72 million contract on December 16, 2022
 * Josh Harrison – Signed a 1-year, $2 million contract on January 30, 2023

Trade acquisitions
On January 7, 2023, the Phillies announced that they had traded outfielder Matt Vierling, utility player Nick Maton and catcher Donny Sands to the Detroit Tigers for relief pitcher Gregory Soto and infielder Kody Clemens.

On January 9, 2023, the Phillies acquired RHP Yunior Marte from the San Francisco Giants, trading away LHP Erik Miller.

April
Despite entering the year with high expectations after their world series run, the Phillies faltered early in Texas. Aaron Nola was unable to hold on to a 5–0 lead in game 1 (the start of a season-long struggle for the right-hander); the Phillies went on to lose 11–7. They were blown out 16–3 two days later before Texas finished off the sweep with a 2–1 win on Sunday Night Baseball, dropping the Phillies to 0–3. Visiting the New York Yankees the next day, April 3, Taijuan Walker struggled in his first Phillies start as the team remained winless with a 8–1 loss. The following day, however, Matt Straham dominated in his first start for Philadelphia, and the bullpen held the game together earning the Phils their first win of the year by a score of 4–1. In the last game, Gerrit Cole outdueled Nola in a 4–2 loss. The Phillies were 1–5 after their first six games.

Their home opener against Cincinnati on April 6 was postponed a day due to rain, but it was worth the wait. In the first game at Citizens Bank Park since game 5 of the World Series, Zack Wheeler pitched well and Craig Kimbrel notched his first save of the season in a 5–2 win. A day later, the Phillies were held scoreless until the bottom of the 9th, when they exploded for 3 runs, capped off by a Bryson Stott walk-off single. Despite leading 4–3 going in to the top of the 9th on Easter Sunday, Seranthony Dominguez was unable to lock down the save, surrendering 3 runs as the Reds won 6–4. Against the Miami Marlins, the Phillies dominated game 1, tagging reigning Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara for 9 runs in a 15–3 win in the first game of the series. However, they struggled in the next two; the Marlins won both and took the series, dropping Philadelphia to 4–8.

They traveled to Cincinnati the following day, where the struggles continued: Nick Lodolo shut them down in a 6–2 loss. They rebounded the next day with an 8–3 win before suffering a 13–0 defeat in the third game, Matt Strahm's first loss with the Phillies that dropped them to 5–10. They flipped the script in the last game of the series, though, scoring 9 runs in the first inning to back up Nola in a 14–3 win which salvaged a series split. They then beat the Chicago White Sox in a series that included Trea Turner's first Phillies homer before returning home to take on the Colorado Rockies.

The Rockies won the first game 5–0, but the Phils rebounded to take the last 3 and win the series. They again lost the first game of their next series to the Seattle Mariners, but once again, rebounded to win the series over the next two days.

To end April, the Phillies went back to Houston to play the Astros in a World Series rematch. Against all odds, they won the series, with Nola and Wheeler dominated in the first two games, capping off a 10–3 run and moving over .500 for the first time all season. They failed to complete the sweep, however, dropping the last game 4–3 on Sunday night. Still, they ended April with a 15–14 record and a 10–4 run in their last 14 games.

May
Following the loss to the Astros, the Phillies traveled to Los Angeles for a 3-game series with the Dodgers. They were blown out 13–4 in the first game; the biggest story of the day, however, was that Bryce Harper would be making his season debut the next day, just 6 months after undergoing Tommy John surgery to repair a torn UCL (an injury that he had suffered nearly a year earlier). It would be the quickest return from Tommy John surgery in Major League history. Harper did in fact debut in game 2 as the designated hitter; however, they could get little done on offense and were blown out for the second straight day, 13–1. The Phillies blew a 5–0 lead in the final game, with Max Muncy hitting a walk-off grand slam off of Kimbrel to complete the sweep and hand Philadelphia its 4th straight loss as they fell to 15–17.

After an off day, the Phillies returned home to face the Boston Red Sox. Their losing ways would continue, though, as they lost each of the first two games extending their losing streak to a season high 6. With a strong 6–1 win in game 3, they snapped the streak, and proceeded to sweep a 2-game set with Toronto and then take the first two of three over Colorado, capping off a 5 game winning streak with a 7–4 win. Just as quickly as they won 5 in a row, however, they dropped 5 straight. Colorado won the last game of the series 4–0; then, the Phillies got swept in San Francisco for the second straight year.

Returning home, the Chicago Cubs dominated them 10–1. They fell right back to 20–24. The Phils rebounded to win the next 2 games over Chicago, but faltered against the red-hot Arizona Diamondbacks, losing the first two games of that series. They salvaged the last game, though, coming back from a 5–0 deficit, forcing extra innings on a Trea Turner 2-run homer and winning the game in the 10th on an Alec Bohm double.

Traveling next to Atlanta for a 4-game series, the Braves won the first, but the Phillies came back and won the middle two games, highlighted by Craig Kimbrel's 400th save on May 26. Looking to Braves in Atlanta for the first time since 2019, waiver pickup Dylan Covey made his first Phillies start on Sunday Night Baseball, giving up 7 runs in the first inning as the Braves secured the split with an 11–4 victory. They had off on Memorial Day, but returned to action against the Mets for a 3-game series at Citi Field. Kodai Senga and Carlos Carrasco turned excellent starts for the Mets as the Phillies scored just 1 run in their last 2 games of May. New York took the series and Philadelphia ended a dismal 10–16 May with a record of 25–30.

June
The Phillies were swept by the Mets on June 1, dropping their 4th straight game and falling a season low 6 games under .500. They then suffered their 5th consecutive defeat the next day to the Nationals, 8–7, despite a comeback effort. They fell to 25–32, tied for last place in the NL with the Nats. The season looked bleak, but confidence remained high, especially after last year's tremendous run, and like 2022, the Phillies would not be down for long. They won the last 2 games in Washington, and then got fantastic performances from Nola, Taijuan Walker, and Wheeler in a sweep of the Detroit Tigers. Each pitcher took a no hitter into at least the 6th inning. Riding a 5-game winning streak, the Phils took on the Dodgers for the second and final time. In a back and forth game 1, Kyle Schwarber launched a walk-off solo homer to give the team its season high 6th straight win, and first over LA on the year. The streak came to an end the next day, as Nola and the offense struggled in a 9–0 loss. But, they took the series the following day with a 7–3 win, and flew to Arizona just 1 game under .500 (31–32).

Roster
All players who made an appearance for the Phillies during 2023 are included.

Batting
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases; BB = Walks; AVG = Batting average; SLG = Slugging average Source:

Pitching
Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = innings pitched; H = Hits allowed; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; SO = Strikeouts Source: