Have the Phillies Been Cursed By Recently Released Player?

The Philadelphia Phillies (65-44) have not performed well over the last three weeks, and that may be an understatement. The craziest part about their slump? It coincides with the day they released utility man Whit Merrifield .

While this is all in jest, of course, it is worth looking into. The Phillies released Merrifield on July 12th. They entered July 12th with a 61-32 record, the best in MLB at the time.

They were entering a three-game weekend series against the Oakland Athletics (46-65) who were entering with a 35-60, last in the American League West, and with the Chicago White Sox (27-85) being the only team in the American League with a worse record. The Phillies would drop that first game 6-2.

The Phillies would go a combined 19-for-92 in that series, 17 walks, and just 6-for-20 with runners in scoring position. Since the All-Star Break, the team has combined to hit .230/.296/.382 with 39 walks in 13 games. The OPS of .678 over that period ranks 23rd in MLB.

Since July 12th, the Phillies have been blown out three times, seeing them turn to backup catcher Garrett Stubbs for mop-up pitching duties in each. In the Athletics series, starting pitchers allowed a combined eight runs over 12 innings. An opener was used in the third game of the series.

Relievers in that series, not including Stubbs, allowed a combined 21 earned runs in 18 innings. Since the All-Star Break, the Phillies as a team hold a 5.14 ERA over 115 2/3 innings.

In the time since his release, Whit Merrifield was signed to a minor league contract by the Atlanta Braves (60-49), a division rival of the Phillies. He signed with the Braves on July 22nd, but did not make his first start until July 31st. The Braves have remembered how to hit in that time, and have gone 3-0 since his first start.

Over the last seven days, the Braves have batted .235/.307/.510 with 20 walks. Their .817 OPS in that span ranks 7th in MLB.

The Phillies have seen their division lead dwindle to within five games as of Saturday morning. With the Braves remembering how to hit after their own extended slump, the Phillies now find themselves in trouble as we enter the dog days of summer.

It is interesting that all of this seemingly coincides with the release of Whit Merrifield from the Phillies and the subsequent signing with the Braves just ten days later. Could Whit Merrifield have put some bad juju on the Phillies on his way out? The world may never know. But the Phillies need to break the Jobu statue that Merrifield hid in the locker room so they can remember how to play baseball again.