Philadelphia Phillies Provide Pitching Staff Updates Ahead of Their Upcoming Series

The Philadelphia Phillies are up against a division rival this week, and ahead of the series, made some announcements regarding the pitchers and injuries.

Oct 9, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Ranger Suarez (55) throws a pitch against the New York Mets in the first inning in game four of the NLDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Citi Field. | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies have had an intriguing start to 2025, with a 15-13 record to their name, and they currently sit in second place in the National League East. However, the teams behind them are not too far away, and with injuries having piled up a bit for the Phillies, they may be in trouble short term.

The positive is that they have been providing some injury updates over the last few days, and many of them seem to be trending in the right direction. Getting back some of their key players and building a really formidable pitching staff would likely help their chances, especially depending on how they utilize some players in the bullpen if it comes to that. While right now the discussion is a six-man rotation, evetually they could find one playing in relief if they need help there.

The most recent set of updates for the Phillies is that Christopher Sanchez will start Wednesday and Taijuan Walker will start Thursday, as was reported by Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer. This is somewhat the expected group to start off their series against the Washington Nationals, as they continue to hold together the rotation until some players return from injury.

Beyond just this week's starters, he noted that Ranger Suárez will be throwing a bullpen session on Wednesday, and that his next start is still TBD at this time. This is a positive sign as he continues to work back from back tightness, and will be a major piece in the team improving in the coming months hopefully.

Finally, in non-pitcher-related news, Lauber stated that Brandon Marsh worked out on Tuesday and that he could be in line to make a rehab appearance in the near future. Marsh is currently the only non-pitcher on the team's Major League injured list, and while he did struggle early on, it could have partially been attributed to his strained hamstring. It will be intriguing to see what he looks like in his return, as Philadelphia could use the extra help in the outfield if he can produce at the plate.

Ultimately with only a few players remaining on the IL, the Phillies should be up to full health within the coming weeks, and that will give fans the chance to see this team at full strength. It will also provide the difficult decision of whether or not they want to move to a six-man rotation, and, if Andrew Painter becomes available later on, if they need to make some changes with the rotation altogether.