Phillies Opening Day Roster Projection 2.0 Includes a Few Changes

CLEARWATER, Fla. — It's March 1 and the regular season begins in just over three weeks, so why not take another early crack at the Phillies' Opening Day roster?

There are a few differences in this installment compared to the first based a bit on performance but more so on comments made by manager Rob Thomson.

Catchers (2)

J.T. Realmuto feels healthier this spring after dealing with nicks and bruises all year in 2025 — foot, groin, finger. Catcher is the most demanding position of them all, between the squatting and the perpetual risk of taking a foul ball off one body part or another. Realmuto quietly does the job, year after year, without drawing attention to the many factors that can cause a catcher's bat to slip.

The reason he still plays this much is the wide gap between Realmuto and his backups. Rafael Marchan was the primary backup in 2025 and likely will be again in 2026. Both he and Garrett Stubbs are out of minor-league options, with the 26-year-old Marchan more likely to be plucked away on waivers than the 32-year-old Stubbs.

A probable scenario seems to be that the Phillies open the season with Marchan in the majors and Stubbs at Triple A, unless they're either able to find a worthwhile trade for Marchan or an appealing backup job emerges elsewhere for Stubbs.

Prediction: Realmuto and Marchan

Infielders (5)

Bryce Harper, Bryson Stott, Trea Turner, Alec Bohm make up the everyday infield.

Edmundo Sosa is the utilityman, and the Phillies shouldn't need to use him in the outfield this season since they have other backup options.

This will be Harper's fourth season at first base, where he quickly became one of the majors' best defensively.

Bryson Stott has been off to a hot start in camp. He doesn't need to hit .300, he doesn't need to post a .370 OBP, really all he needs to do is repeat what he did in 2023. Stott hit .280/.329/.419 that season and was above league-average offensively. His second base defense has always been stellar and he's been a Gold Glove finalist twice in the last three years.

Stott is under team control through the end of 2027. He earns $5.9M in 2026.

Shortstop Trea Turner made huge improvements last season, cutting his error total to eight in 139 games. He committed 40 combined in his prior two years with the Phillies. The key difference was the way infield coach Bobby Dickerson had Turner attack the ball. Turner used his speed and athleticism more, taking a different angle to field grounders, sometimes making a semi-circle movement to field the ball.

"Field the ball" is a dirty phrase to Dickerson, who preaches to his infielders that they should think of attacking grounders like catching a ball in the air rather than letting it come to them.

Alec Bohm enters his seventh and probably final season as the Phillies' starting third baseman, barring a massive career year that alters the team's plans. A trade candidate each of the last two offseasons, Bohm will earn $10.2 million in 2026. He's as important this year as any Phillie since he's expected to be the primary right-handed cleanup option behind Harper and Kyle Schwarber.

Top prospect Aidan Miller is waiting in the wings but has not appeared in spring training games yet because of lower back soreness. He talked about the injury on Thursday. It is unclear whether Miller will be ready to go when the Triple A season begins. All he's doing at the moment is playing catch.

"He's behind," Thomson acknowledged on Saturday.

Prediction: Harper, Stott, Turner, Bohm, Sosa

Infield/Outfield (2)

This is a change from the first Phillies Opening Day roster projection, with Dylan Moore added as the final bench piece.

"It depends on how it all shakes out," Thomson said Thursday when asked about the criteria he's seeking for that spot, "but I would say more utility type guy that you can put out there. Whether he's right-handed or left-handed, it'll be determined later. But a guy who can play the outfield, play the infield. Another (Otto) Kemp, really."

That sounds like Dylan Moore, the seven-year MLB vet signed by the Phillies the first week of February. Moore has ample experience at seven different positions and can play anywhere other than catcher.

Moore discussed his opportunity earlier this week outside the Phillies' clubhouse.

Kemp will play left field in addition to third base, first base and maybe a little second base. The Phillies are committed to getting him ample reps in left field in the Grapefruit League.

That would seem to be the most consistent starting spot for Kemp against left-handed pitching when Brandon Marsh sits. Kemp's on-base percentage against lefties in his final two minor-league seasons was over .400 and the Phillies are hoping that translates somewhat in his first full major-league year as a platoon option.

Prediction: Kemp and Moore

Outfield (4)

Four of these spots are obvious. Marsh will start in left field, Justin Crawford in center and Adolis Garcia in right.

Marsh has been slowed early in camp by hand inflammation suffered during a sliding drill. He has appeared in only one game, but the Phillies hope to have him back in the lineup Tuesday in Port Charlotte against the Rays.

Schwarber started eight games in left field last season and five the year before, and the Phillies will ideally keep him to that number or below in 2026.

Johan Rojas and Bryan De La Cruz are involved in the bench competition with Moore but neither can play the infield. The Phillies seem to value Moore's versatility over Rojas' pinch-running/defense and De La Cruz' bat.

De La Cruz had a big day Saturday in Dunedin with a home run off of Dylan Cease and a single in his second at-bat. He'll need more afternoons like that in camp to increase his chances.

Prediction: Marsh, Crawford, Garcia, Schwarber

Starting pitchers (5)

The opening day rotation, barring injury in camp, will be Cristopher Sanchez, Jesus Luzardo, Aaron Nola, Andrew Painter and Taijuan Walker.

Sanchez is the likely Opening Day starter after a 202-inning, 2.50-ERA, Cy Young runner-up season.

The Phillies could slot Aaron Nola into the No. 2 spot to begin the year since it would split up their two lefties, Sanchez and Luzardo.

It will be interesting to see who slots in as the "No. 4" between Painter and Walker and which of them eventually leaves the rotation if Zack Wheeler returns to a healthy staff.

Painter's spring debut was set for Sunday. Walker made his on Thursday and was sharp, showing more velocity than he did early the past two springs and getting outs without turning to his splitter once. He was also in midseason form with his pickoff move. Walker is second among all active right-handers with 31 career pickoffs. Justin Verlander (35 pickoffs) is the only other with more than 30.

The rotation will change once Zack Wheeler is ready, which could be mid-April at the earliest. Wheeler was scheduled Sunday for his second bullpen session of the spring. He will probably throw one more, then advance to throwing live batting practice.

The Phillies don't have much depth beyond those six. Bryse Wilson, Alan Rangel, Jean Cabrera and Tucker Davidson are their other starters in camp. All except Davidson have started a game so far in camp. Yoniel Curet started in the Tampa Bay Rays' system but is currently viewed by the Phils as a reliever.

Adding another starting pitcher before Opening Day still makes sense for the Phillies but not a veteran like Lucas Giolito or Zack Littell. The team wouldn't be able to offer enough consistent work to either one. A pitcher with no qualms going back and forth from Triple A to the majors would fit best.

Prediction: Sanchez, Luzardo, Nola, Painter, Walker

Relievers (8)

The locks are Jhoan Duran, Brad Keller, Jose Alvarado, Tanner Banks, Orion Kerkering and Jonathan Bowlan.

Keller throws five pitches and Bowlan has six. They both have the chance to help push this 'pen forward, particularly Keller, who left with Harper and Schwarber on Saturday night to join Team USA in Houston for the World Baseball Classic.

Kerkering dealt with a right hamstring strain early in camp but threw a bullpen session on Saturday. He said the day before that he'd likely throw two of them, then pitch live BP before getting into a Grapefruit League game.

The other two bullpen spots are an open competition, with at least one of those jobs likely going to a reliever with minor-league options remaining so that the Phillies can cycle in a fresh arm when needed.

The relievers in play with options left are LHP Kyle Backhus and righties Max Lazar, Seth Johnson, Chase Shugart and Nolan Hoffman.

Right-handed sinkerballer Zach Pop is out of options and may have an edge for an Opening Day spot just because he's the lone reliever who could not be freely sent to Triple A out of camp.

Veterans Lou Trivino, Trevor Richards, LHP Tim Mayza and LHP Genesis Cabrera are also out of options but on minor-league deals, so they could begin the season in the minors but would have to be designated for assignment if they're added to the 40-man roster, called up and the Phillies wanted to send them back down.

Even though they're on minor-league deals, vets like Trivino, Richards and Mayza often have opt-out agreements in their contract for the final week of spring training if they can see that they won't be making the team and will have a better opportunity elsewhere.

And then there's Rule 5 pick Zach McCambley, whose roster status basically mirrors that of a pitcher out of minor-league options. If the Phillies don't carry him on the Opening Day roster (minus an injury), he would have to be passed through waivers and then offered back to the Marlins for $50,000 before the Phils would have a chance to keep him in their organization.

McCambley has struggled with control in the early going, walking five in three innings and averaging 22 pitches per.

McCambley and the left-handed submariner Backhus were the two predictions last time, but Pop could make it over the Rule 5 pick.

"Bowling ball sinker," Thomson said of Pop this week.

Prediction: Duran, Keller, Alvarado, Banks, Kerkering, Bowlan, Pop, Backhus