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Dombrowski and Girardi Speak From Phillies Spring Training

Philadelphia Phillies President Dave Dombrowski and manager Joe Girardi spoke to the media on Sunday morning.

Author:
Lauren Amour
Mar 13, 2022 12:14 PM EDT

There are 26 days until Philadelphia Phillies Opening Day on April 8, and 24 days until the Phillies return to the City of Brotherly Love from Clearwater, Fl. on April 6.

As MLB free agency was buzzing on Saturday, time is dwindling for the Phillies to make a move to acquire players to fulfill the many holes that remain on their roster. It won't be long until big-name free agents or trade pieces will come off the board.

Phillies President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski spoke to the media from Clearwater on Sunday morning, answering the questions that reporters and Phillies fans alike want answered.

One of the first orders of business that Dombrowski addressed was pitcher Zach Eflin's timetable. Eflin went down with an injury in July 2021 and hasn't pitched in the majors since. However, Dombrowski said that he is impressed by Eflin's progress.

He's thrown "numerous bullpens" and off the mound, and could potentially be ready for Opening Day.

As for Ranger Suárez, Dombrowski confirmed the multitude of reports that Suárez would be late to Phillies' camp due to visa issues. He is expected to arrive by next week.

NL Cy Young runner-up Zack Wheeler is also a bit behind schedule, as the Phillies' ace hasn't thrown off the mound since the conclusion of the 2021 season, and must recover from his heavy workload. Wheeler led the majors with 213.1 innings pitched last year.

Update: As Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports, Wheeler "felt some soreness in his right shoulder in December and shut down his typical throwing program," thus setting him back a bit. He's expected to throw from the mound on Monday, and it doesn't seem of concern to him or Dombrowski. But Gelb notes that Wheeler getting back into his regular throwing routine will indicate whether the shoulder soreness was just a "nuisance" or is a "real problem."

The Phillies still have two questions marks in place of left and center field, and Dombrowski suggested in his presser that they "could work a platoon" at either of those positions. Matt Vierling's name came up as a potential center field option, and perhaps a left fielder acquired via free agency, as there's still a few names left who could satisfy that role.

The shortstop position is also uncertain with incumbent Didi Gregorius underperforming both offensively and defensively in 2021. Dombrowski said that Gregorius and top prospect Bryson Stott will compete for a job there during Spring Training.

Joe Girardi spoke on the subject of Gregorius during his presser as well, stating that Didi "replaced Derek Jeter in New York" and is "up for the challenge" of reclaiming starting shortstop.

Girardi quickly confirmed that Corey Knebel is the Phillies' closer, as many have been speculating since the acquisition prior to the lockout on Dec. 1.

Perhaps some of these questions will have more solid answers by the end of this week.

Until then, keep following Inside the Phillies for all of the latest updates out of Phillies' Spring Training.