The Phillies will enter the 2020 season with a payroll north of $200 million. That’s a lot of money and yet, as the New Year approaches, most believe the Phils have no better than the 3rd best team in the NL East, and some think they might even be 4th-best.
After all, last year the Braves won the division for the second year in a row, piling up 96 wins in 2019. The Nationals won the wild card with 93 wins, beat the Phillies 14 out of 19 times, outscored them by 34 runs in their meetings and won the World Series.