The Philadelphia Phillies were officially eliminated from postseason contention on Tuesday following a 4-1 loss to the Washington Nationals.
Philadelphia (79-77) has now missed the playoffs eight years in a row and will need to win three of its final six games to finish with a winning record for the first time since 2011.
Manager Gabe Kapler was asked postgame about his job status amid a bitterly disappointing season and insisted he wants to continue leading the club for the foreseeable future.
"We have games to play left. Like I said, there's going to be plenty of opportunity to reflect," Kapler said, according to Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. "I love this organization. I love this team specifically. I love working for this front office. I love working for this ownership group.
"And look, I'm going to manage this club as long as I can. Because I think I give us a great chance to win and I think because I care deeply about the success of this franchise."
Philadelphia entered the regular season as one of the NL East favorites after signing Bryce Harper, Andrew McCutchen, and David Robertson for a combined $403 million in the offseason. The club also acquired All-Stars J.T. Realmuto and Jean Segura.
The Phillies' offense was supposed to be one of the team's strengths but has failed to live up to expectations. The club ranks 15th in the majors in WAR (20.3), 19th in slugging (.427), and 19th in on-base percentage (.320), according to FanGraphs.
Philly fired hitting coach John Mallee in mid-August and replaced him with Charlie Manuel.
Things haven't gone much better on the pitching front, as the club sits 23rd in WAR (7.8), and 17th in ERA (4.55).
