Despite an early exit in the postseason, the Philadelphia Phillies still had an excellent season in 2025.
Finishing with the second-best record in the sport, the Phillies were led by a star-powered roster. Some of those players have been rewarded and recognized for their achievements. The nominations include the club’s manager, who helped lead the team to a second straight division title.
Heading into the season, many expected the Phillies to have a finalist for the Cy Young award. However, most people would have assumed that Zack Wheeler would be the nominee. Instead, it was Cristophez Sanchez, who has developed into one of the best pitchers in baseball.
2024 was a breakout campaign for the Phillies’ left-hander. Sanchez set out to prove this past season that he was exactly as advertised. Sanchez tossed 202 innings, where he struck out 212 batters. His 2.50 earned run average and 13-5 record showcase how great he was this past year.
Sanchez finished third in the National League for the ERA crown despite pitching the second-most innings. The left-hander also finished fifth in strikeouts.
The other finalists for the award were Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
For the first time since 2021, the Philadelphia Phillies have a finalist for the National League Most Valuable Player award. If history repeats itself, the club will have its ninth MVP.
Schwarber was simply one of the best hitters in the sport this past season. The veteran led the National League with 56 home runs and all of Major League Baseball with 132 runs batted in.
He played in 162 games and slashed .240/.365/.564/.928 for the year. Schwarber was primarily the team’s designated hitter but did spend some time in left field this season. He earned his second All-Star nomination as a member of the Phillies and won the All-Star Game MVP with his victory in the extra-inning swing-off showcase.
Schwarber is joined by Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Juan Soto of the New York Mets as finalists for the award. Ohtani is the reigning National League MVP and would join Barry Bonds as the only player to win four MVP awards and three in a row. Soto is coming off an excellent season with the Mets after signing the largest contract in the history of baseball.
Before the playoffs began, I wrote in this very publication that Rob Thomson deserved to win the National League Manager of the Year award. As of today, we know Thomson will be a finalist for the award for the first time in his career.
Leading the Phillies to back-to-back division titles is a huge achievement and one that deserves to be recognized. Thomson entered the season with the most pressure of any manager in Major League Baseball. After three straight seasons of playoff exits, the skipper of the Phils needed to make a statement.
A statement was made, winning 96 games in 2025. The club finished one game behind the Milwaukee Brewers for the best record in baseball. Thomson competed and easily won a division with the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves, two clubs that experts ranked ahead of the Phillies this past season.
Thomson navigated mid-season injuries to Bryce Harper, Aaron Nola, Trea Turner, Zack Wheeler and many more. Thomson managed a below-average bullpen by all metrics and still was able to produce. His outfield unit was in the bottom half of most offensive categories. Turning to a strict platoon late in the season helped a struggling unit turn into a far more productive crew.
Thomson is joined by Pat Murphy of the Milwaukee Brewers and Terry Francona of the Cincinnati Reds as nominees. Murphy was the 2024 recipient of the National League Manager of the Year award. If he were to win again, he would be the first manager in the NL to do so since Bobby Cox in 2004-2005 with the Atlanta Braves.
