Phillies Make Majority of Opening Day Roster Decisions on Busy Sunday

The Phillies announced a variety of roster moves on Sunday morning that clear up most of the remaining questions about their Opening Day roster.

Three of four members of the bench are now known, everyone except the backup catcher.

All but one bullpen spot has been officially claimed, and even that one spot looks cinched up.

These were the moves announced Sunday:

Made the team

Utilityman Dylan Moore signed a major-league contract and will be on the bench, along with Edmundo Sosa, Otto Kemp and the backup catcher, who will be either Rafael Marchan or Garrett Stubbs.

More here on why the Phillies still felt they needed Moore despite having two other utilitymen on their bench.

Left-handed reliever Tim Mayza signed a major-league contract and will be in the Opening Day bullpen. If Orion Kerkering, who was slowed in camp by a right hamstring strain and has pitched in two games this week, is ready to go on Opening Day, only one spot in the Phillies' bullpen is left, but it sure looks like it's going to low-sidearm lefty Kyle Backhus.

That would give the Phillies four righties (Jhoan Duran, Brad Keller, Kerkering, Jonathan Bowlan) and four lefties (Jose Alvarado, Tanner Banks, Backhus, Mayza).

The Phillies would have almost certainly lost both Moore and Mayza if they didn't sign them to new major-league deals and them to the 40-man roster. Moore has value because of his defensive versatility and Mayza because of his consistent ability to handle left-handed bats. They hit .200 off him last season and .214/.266/.304 for his career.

Didn't make the team

• Right-handed reliever Chase Shugart, who was in the bullpen mix until the end, was optioned to Triple-A. The Phillies acquired him in January from the Pirates for 18-year-old, minor-league infielder Francisco Loreto. Shugart had a 3.40 ERA last season for Pittsburgh.

• Corner outfielder Bryan De La Cruz, who hit the ball hard and had results to show for it throughout the spring, was reassigned to minor-league camp. He was one of the final competitors with Moore for the bench job but Moore was the perceived favorite all along because of the Phillies' preference to have someone capable of playing both infield and outfield.

De La Cruz played some center field early in his career but is a corner outfielder at this point. He still could find ways to help the major-league club in 2026. He'd be the first corner outfielder up if there's an injury.

• Right-handed reliever Lou Trivino was reassigned to minor-league camp. Like Mayza and Moore, Trivino possessed an opt-out clause in his contract that would allow him to receive his release if not on the Opening Day roster. He met the criteria as a free agent with at least six years of MLB service time, who finished last season on a 40-man roster and then signed a minor-league deal. Trivino will remain in the organization at Triple-A.

• Also reassigned to minor-league camp were infielder Christian Cairo (the son of Miguel), first baseman Liover Peguero and right-handed reliever Jonathan Hernandez.

Back to Miami

Rule 5 pick Zach McCambley was returned to the Miami Marlins for $50,000 after not making the Phillies' Opening Day roster.

The Phillies took a four-month shot on McCambley to see how his slider and gyro ball would play against right-handed hitters, and he was effective at times but fell behind in plenty of counts and walked six batters in 7⅓ innings. That's the last thing a young reliever fighting to make a team wants to do in spring training.

Now what

With Sunday's transactions, all that's unannounced at this point is:

• The backup catcher battle between Marchan and Stubbs. Marchan has been the assumed winner all along because he's six years younger and the Phillies would probably have an easier time keeping Stubbs in the organization.

• Whether or not Backhus has officially made the team. He pitched well all spring, retired hitters from the left and right sides, and offers a completely unique look to the rest of the bullpen. The only way Backhus wouldn't make the Opening Day roster is if the Phillies deem it more worthwhile to keep Zach Pop, who is out of minor-league options, whereas Backhus can be optioned to Triple-A.