Don Mattingly’s message for the Phillies is pretty clear: if this team wants to squeeze more out of its offense in 2027, the basepaths should be a bigger part of the plan.
Philadelphia was excellent when it did run last season. The Phillies finished 2026 with an 84.7% stolen-base success rate, best in MLB, and they turned that into one of the more effective baserunning teams in the league overall.
Their 8.0 baserunning runs above average ranked third in baseball. But that efficiency also pointed to a bigger issue: the club didn’t always use its speed enough.
The Phillies’ offense struggled to create traffic all year, finishing with a .312 OBP, which ranked 23rd in MLB. Even with that light on-base profile, they still managed 105 steals, good for 15th in the majors.
But the distribution tells the story. Bryson Stott led the team with 27 steals, Trea Turner followed with 21, rookie Justin Crawford had 17, and Brandon Marsh was the only other Phillie to reach double figures with 11.
The rest of the roster combined for 29.
That’s part of why Mattingly wants more pace.
"I want a club that plays faster. I feel like we have speed that we don't use."
The Phillies did run into 38 outs on the bases last year, not counting caught stealings, force outs or pickoffs, so this isn’t just a matter of throwing caution away. Even so, that total was eighth-fewest in the majors, which supports the idea that the team can be more assertive without recklessness becoming the story.
Crawford looks like the obvious piece if Philadelphia decides to push the envelope. He swiped 46 bases in Triple-A Lehigh Valley in 2025, and if the Phillies lean into more aggression, he’s the clearest vehicle for it.
Stott already showed he can create value on the bases without giving much back. His 27 steals came without a single caught stealing, making him 27-for-27. That kind of efficiency gives the Phillies room to ask for a little more.
Turner is the more complicated case. He finished with 15 fewer steals in 2026 than he did in 2025, even though he still sits in the 98th percentile in sprint speed according to Baseball Savant.
He’ll be 34 next season, and a drop-off wouldn’t be a surprise. His decline could be tied to age as much as to an OBP that fell by nearly 60 points.
Aidan Miller adds another layer to the conversation. In his last full minor league season, he stole 59 bases at an 80 percent clip in 116 games.
The Phillies expect him to be part of their 2027 picture after a back injury limited him to most of 2026. If they don’t sign a replacement for Alec Bohm in free agency, Miller could step in at third base.
Mattingly has a legitimate case here. There are multiple ways for the Phillies to get better on the bases. But the simplest fix is also the first one: they need to get on base more often before any of that really matters.
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