All photos by @phillies on Instagram
EDIT : I spoke too soon! The phillies just announced that Jake Cave has been traded to the Rockies!! Meaning we have Rojas + Pache on the roster for now. Something tells me this post is about to be totally wrong........
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Original Post:
We're less than a week away from Opening Day. With that said, let's discuss what the potential roster looks like:
As of 3/24/24, these are the active players:
Jose Alvarado
Connor Brogdon
Dylan Covey
Seranthony Dominguez
Jeff Hoffman
Orion Kerkering
Yunior Marte
Aaron Nola
Luis F. Ortiz
Michael Rucker
Gregory Soto
Matt Strahm
Ranger Suarez
Cristopher Sanchez
Spencer Turnbull
Taijuan Walker
Zack Wheeler
Rafael Marchan
JT Realmuto
Garrett Stubbs
Alec Bohm
Kody Clemens
Bryce Harper
Whit Merrifield
Edmundo Sosa
Bryson Stott
Trea Turner
Nick Castellanos
Jake Cave
Brandon Marsh
Cristian Pache
Johan Rojas
Kyle Schwarber
Those 33 players need to be narrowed down to 26. So the Phillies need to eliminate 4 pitchers off the list and three position players to have a 26-man roster by opening day.
Now, due to injuries and illnesses, we can eliminate some players:
Orion Kerkering - Out due to Illness, Expected Return TBD (leaves a bullpen spot open)
Taijuan Walker - Out due to Right shoulder - Expected Return TBD (leaves a rotation spot open)
Dylan Covey - Out due to Right shoulder - Expected Return TBD
Rafael Marchan - Out due to Back - Expected Return TBD
Michael Rucker - Out due to finger numbness - Expected Return TBD
We must eliminate two more players if we take those 5 players off the original 33-man list. Let's look to see who we're 100% sure will make the Opening Day Roster:
PITCHERS:
Zack Wheeler
Aaron Nola
Ranger Suarez
Cristopher Sanchez
Jose Alvarado
Seranthony Dominguez
Jeff Hoffman
Gregory Soto
Matt Strahm
Connor Brogdon
Yunior Marte
Luis F. Ortiz
Spencer Turnbull
Due to injuries, the pitching is locked in. The only question is who will take Walker's rotation start and who will be in the pen.
Turnbull and Ortiz will probably be in the bullpen. The Phils could have Strahm be the starter like they did last year, but something tells me they would rather have him be a closer or a long man out of the bullpen.
Three quick notes:
Ranger Suarez—Through four games this spring, he has pitched 15 innings, thrown 16 strikeouts, has a 0.00 ERA, and a 0.60 WHIP.
With his nice new contract and an even year, Aaron Nola is poised to pitch well. For some reason, he pitches better in even years.
2018 -2.37 ERA | 2020 - 3.28 ERA | 2022 - 3.25 ERA
2019 - 3.87 ERA | 2021 - 4.63 ERA | 2023 - 4.46 ERA
Matt Strahm was extended today through 2025 with a club/vesting option for 2026.
POSITION PLAYERS + BENCH :
JT Realmuto [Catcher]
Alec Bohm [3B]
Bryce Harper [1B]
Bryson Stott [2B]
Trea Turner [SS]
Nick Castellanos [RF]
Brandon Marsh [LF]
Kyle Schwarber [DH]
BENCH:
Garrett Stubbs (Catcher)
Edmundo Sosa (Infield)
Whit Merrifield (Utility)
There are 11 locks to make it here. Barring an injury, I think Kody Clemens will start the season in Triple-A, which brings us back to the question of Pache, Rojas, or Cave.
We have to pick two options out of the three, so let's look at the stats:
Johan Rojas:
As of 3/24/24, he has had 51 Spring Training AB and has:
6 R, 9 H, 6 RBI, 3 SB and a .176 AVG.
Last year, in his 149 MLB at-bats, he had:
24 R, 45 H, 2 HR, 23 RBI, 14 SB and a .302 AVG.
There's no denying his hitting could use some work, but his defense in the field is phenomenal.
Cristian Pache:
As of 3/24/24, he has had 35 Spring Training AB and has:
7 R, 10 H, 2 HR, 4 RBI, and a .286 AVG.
Last year, in his 84 MLB at-bats, he had:
12 R, 20 H, 2 HR, 11 RBI, 2 SB and a .238 AVG.
If Pache can stay healthy and put up the numbers like he has in spring training, this could be an excellent season.
Jake Cave:
As of 3/24/24, he has had 37 Spring Training AB and has:
4 R, 12 H, 4 RBI, 1 SB and a .324 AVG.
Last year, in his 184 MLB at-bats, he had:
18 R, 39 H, 5 HR, 21 RBI, 3 SB and a .212 AVG.
There's no secret that Cave can mash in Triple-A, but his MLB numbers don't reflect that.
Cave and Pache are both out of options. Cave is a left-handed bat and can play first base, which might give him an edge over Pache.
I don't know how this will go, but I guess we should keep Rojas and hope his batting improves. Then, we could bring Cave back to Philly because he's more versatile, but it remains to be seen.
Let's go Phillies!
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