Phillies Mets To Play London Series In 2024
Chase Utley has wasted little time on making an impact as an MLB ambassador across the pond. MLB announced on Thursday that the Phillies and the Mets will play a 2 game series from June 8th and 9th next season. This is an attempt by Major League Baseball to reach an international market that’s been untapped. This will not be the first time that MLB games have been played in London as the Cubs and Cardinals are set to play this weekend.
MLB is obviously looking to get rivalries going for these international games. The Cubs and Cardinals are divisional rivals and there is a lot of bad blood between the Mets and Phillies. Chase Utley likely pushed for this match up considering he played for the Phillies and owned the Mets. It will be cool to see the Phillies in a neutral location and hopefully beating up on a divisional opponent.
The Mets and Phillies will give fans a preview this weekend as the two teams are set to start a 3 game series Friday night down at Citizens Bank Park. Friday night’s game will be an Apple TV+ game as Taijuan Walker is set to go up against Kodai Senga. Saturday the Phillies will throw out Christopher Sanchez and the Mets will counter with former Phillies prospect Carlos Carrasco. And the two teams will throw out their aces on Sunday as Zach Wheeler will battle Max Scherzer.
Ranking The Phillies Biggest Needs At The Trade Deadline
The MLB trade Deadline is almost upon us. It is August 1st this year. meaning we are just over a month away. The moves should start to pick up shortly. And the Phillies should probably be involved in some of those.
This season has not gone as everyone hoped it would. The bats are struggling to drive in runs. Their starting rotation has at times been great, but Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler have not looked like aces. The top of the bullpen has been great, but there have been some untimely blowups by the back-end guys. Not to mention the fielding and baserunning have been atrocious. All of that has the Phillies still out of the playoffs at nearly the halfway point of the season. As of June 26th, they are 3 games out of a Wild Card spot and 10 back from the Braves.
And with the Trade Deadline about a month away, it is about that time to start looking at what the Phillies need to add to make sure they are competitive come October.
The Phillies need to do something. There is too much talent on this team, and too much money invested, for them not to be competitive. But what exactly do they need to do? To add another starter? Another Bat? Bullpen help? To be honest, they could use help with all of the above. The 5th spot in the rotation is underperforming. Their lineup is great on paper, but not living up to expectations. And while the back of the bullpen is great, it is hard to trust some of the guys deeper in the bullpen. But what do they most need to address?
Let’s take a look at all 3 of those needs, and rank which ones are the most important for them to address at the trade deadline:
Pat is Philly through and through, having grown up in the Oxford Circle of Northeast Philadelphia. He attended Cardinal Dougherty High School, and it was at CD that a teacher suggested he should pursue a career in sports radio. He worked his way up the ranks and joined the morning show in June of 2020. As a content creator for 97.5 The Fanatic he writes about Eagles, Sixers, Phillies and Flyers. Follow Pat on Twitter @Pat_Egan