As the Philadelphia Eagles prepare to take on the modern-day NFL titan that is the Kansas City Chiefs, the Philadelphia Phillies will have to face a titan of their own this season in the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Despite both teams sitting atop their respective divisions and owning high payrolls, there are obvious gaps in power that the Phillies will need to navigate if they want to find success in 2025.
How They Fared in 2024
There is zero confusion over who ran the table in Major League Baseball in 2024. Not only did the Dodgers claim the title of World Champion, but they owned the best record in MLB at 98-64.
The road to the World Series was not an easy one either for the Dodgers as they had to take down the division rival San Diego Padres (93-69) and the New York Mets (89-73) before facing the best team in the American League, the New York Yankees (94-68).
While the Dodgers may have been the best team by record in MLB, the Phillies were not far behind them, in second overall sitting at 95-67. However, the National League East Champions were subject to an early exit in the postseason, losing to the Mets in the National League Division Series.
Comparatively, the Phillies and Dodgers both possessed top-five offenses in 2024. The Dodgers scored the second-most runs in baseball at 842 runs (5.47 runs per game) while the Phillies were fifth with 784 runs (4.84 runs per game). Defensively, both teams were relatively in the middle of the pack on the season with the Phillies and Dodgers being 12th and 13th respectively in runs allowed. The Phillies allowed 671 runs (4.14 runs per game) while the Dodgers allowed 686 (4.23 runs per game).
When the two teams faced off in the regular season, the Phillies dominated. The Phillies went 5-1 against the Dodgers, keeping their top-five offense to 2.67 runs per game over the six-game set.
Offseason Acquisitions Change the Game
On paper, the Phillies were neck-and-neck with the World Series Champs through the regular season. Once a team reaches the postseason, anything can indeed happen. In a game where the regular season is a 162-game marathon, it can be impossible to tell who is going to out-sprint the rest at the end of the race.
At the beginning of the offseason, the Dodgers had 11 players enter free agency: outfielders Teoscar Hernandez, Enrique Hernandez, and Kevin Kiermaier and pitchers Joe Kelly, Jack Flaherty, Blake Treinen, Walker Buehler, Daniel Hudson, Clayton Kershaw, Zach Logar, and Brent Honeywell. They have since re-signed Snell, Treinen, and Teoscar Hernandez.
Essentially, the Dodgers have let go of two outfielders, two starting pitchers, and a handful of relievers. In their place, the Dodgers have added outfielder Michael Conforto, infielder Hyeseong Kim, starting pitcher Roki Sasaki, and relievers Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates. Oh, and Shohei Ohtani is almost certainly returning as a starting pitcher in 2025. So, to put it briefly, the World Series Champions have gotten a LOT better.
Meanwhile, the Phillies have stagnated by comparison. Outfielder Austin Hayes and pitchers Spencer Turnbull, Carlos Estevez, and Jeff Hoffman all entered free agency in the offseason. In response, the Phillies signed outfielder Max Kepler and relievers Jordan Romano and Joe Ross, along with trading for starting pitcher Jesus Luzardo.
While Luzardo is a definite improvement over Turnbull in the rotation, Romano’s value hinges on his return to form after an elbow injury. Ross will eat his fair share of innings in the bullpen but likely will not be in many high-leverage situations. Kepler could bring value out of left field for the Phillies or could be another warm body at the position, only time will tell.
Follow the Money
So what is the main difference between the Phillies and Dodgers? Money, plain and simple. At the time of publishing, the Phillies’ 2025 payroll is set at $288 million, $100 million less than the Dodgers’ $380 million, per FanGraphs. To put the Dodgers’ spending into context, Yankees’ owner Hal Steinbrenner recently said in an interview on YES Network: “It’s difficult for most of us owners to be able to do the kind of things that they’re doing.“
That is right, Steinbrenner said it’s difficult to spend the type of money the Dodgers are spending. Having the Japanese market cornered with their triumvirate of Japanese starters in Ohtani, Sasaki, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto certainly helps, but the truth is few can compete with the cash the Dodgers’ ownership group is spitting out.
And so, John Middleton will have to face off against the true definition of “stupid money” if he wants a chance to get his trophy back.
When Will the Phillies and Dodgers Face Off?
The Phillies face the Dodgers right out the gate as they host them in their second series of the season on April 4-6. While statistics and conjecture can compare the two teams in a thousand ways, these three games will be the first true litmus test for where the two teams stand.
Interestingly enough, the 2025 schedule has it such that the two teams will not meet again until the final 12 games of the season when the Phillies travel out west for their final road trip of the season. The three-game set on September 15-17 will show how the two teams stack up will a full season of wear and tear, just weeks before the postseason begins.
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