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Things have been rough for the Philadelphia Phillies. A former catcher gave a strong take about their struggles.

The Philadelphia Phillies made the news on Tuesday when they announced that they had fired manager Rob Thomson. Philadelphia is 10-19 and tied with the New York Mets, not just for last place in the National League East, but for the worst record in Major League Baseball.

The Phillies have promoted bench coach Don Mattingly to serve as the interim manager. But there is a lot to be concerned about right now in Philadelphia. This was a team that was expected to contend for an NL East title but has fallen to 10 1/2 games back of first place.

While the Mets are also struggling badly, former MLB catcher Anthony Recker gave a strong take about the state of the Phillies on MLB Network.

“For me, I see this Phillies team and I actually see more problems with them,” Recker said. “Realistically, I’m more worried about them than I am the Mets.”

Phillies Get Blunt Take After Slow Start

Recker cites the Phillies’ pitching staff as a major problem. Their starting rotation has posted a 5.52 ERA in 29 games, and the bullpen has gone 3-6 with a 4.20 ERA. But Recker also notes that the offense is struggling.

As a team, the Phillies are hitting just .223/.298/.364 with a .662 OPS. They also are 18th in Major League Baseball with just 30 home runs.

The Mets had a 12-game losing streak after being predicted to have a much better season. However, there are reasons to be more concerned about the Phillies than the Mets. They have a lot of players that are aging and not performing up to par. Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner, Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler are all 32 years or older.

The Phillies were showing some signs of decline last season, especially when they were eliminated so quickly in the National League Division Series by the eventual back-to-back World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.

But now that they have fallen to last place in the NL East, the cracks in the foundation are more obvious. The team is getting older and simply not keeping up with the best in the league, which could mean that their playoff hopes are slowly slipping away early in the season.

They have already dug themselves a big hole. That can always be overcome, but it will be no easy task to get the Phillies back on track and in contention after such a rough start to the season.

Mattingly’s Impact after Thomson’s Firing

The one thing the Phillies can hang their hat on is the fact that they have an experienced manager in Don Mattingly, who had a lot of success at the helm of the Dodgers from 2011-15.

The Phillies do have the right person in charge, but the issues with the team that Recker pointed out are still there. Those don’t magically go away now that Mattingly is in charge instead of Thomson.

Their hole may be too big to overcome at this point, but it will be interesting to see where the Phillies end up at the end of the season.