Predicting the Results of Phillies' Three Spring Training Battles

With the Phillies' Grapefruit League schedule beginning Saturday, we'll begin to get a closer look at their few position battles of camp.

The Opening Day roster won't be decided until closer to a month from now, and how these players perform in Week 1 will not determine anything. But you'll see a lot of these players throughout camp in their quest to prove they belong.

The bench battle

The Phillies have one open bench spot, with the other three going to Edmundo Sosa, Otto Kemp and the backup catcher.

In play for the final bench role are:

• Corner outfielder Bryan De La Cruz

• Centerfielder Johan Rojas

• Veteran utilityman Dylan Moore

All three hit from the right side.

De La Cruz stands out as having the most offensive upside of the trio. He hit 40 home runs combined in 2023 and 2024 for the Marlins and Pirates.

"That kid can really hit," Phillies manager Rob Thomson said of De La Cruz two summers ago in Miami after he popped one against Aaron Nola.

Rojas' strength is his center field defense and speed. Moore's strength is his ability to play everywhere on the diamond other than catcher. But neither would be a strong offensive option off the bench in a big pinch-hitting spot.

The Phillies won't be pinch-hitting for Bryce Harper or Kyle Schwarber, obviously. Justin Crawford also hit .376 vs. lefties last season at Triple A, and the Phillies won't want to stunt his growth so he might not be pulled much either.

The two lefties the Phillies have and will pinch-hit for when the situation warrants it are Brandon Marsh and Bryson Stott. Edmundo Sosa or Kemp, if not already used, would always make sense as the pinch-hitter for Stott because the Phillies would not need to waste multiple players with a different defensive replacement. Kemp could also pinch-hit for Marsh as long as the Phillies feel comfortable with his left field defense.

De La Cruz played 46 games of Winter Ball in the Dominican Republic and hit .301 with a team-leading .888 OPS, eight home runs and 40 RBI for Toros del Este. It would not be surprising if he is ahead of some hitters in camp early on just based on how much live pitching he's seen throughout the offseason.

Prediction: De La Cruz

Backup catcher

This one is more straightforward, a competition again between Rafael Marchan and Garrett Stubbs for the backup job to J.T. Realmuto.

Last spring, Marchan was out of options but Stubbs was not, making it a rather easy decision for the Phillies. They would have risked losing Marchan for nothing if he didn't make the Opening Day roster but that risk did not exist with Stubbs. Marchan made the team and Stubbs didn't appear in the majors until September.

This spring, both are out of options and would be subject to waivers if not on the Opening Day roster. Marchan remains the likelier of the two to be claimed by another club because he's six years younger with more upside.

Prediction: Marchan

The bullpen

Six of eight bullpen spots are spoken for by Jhoan Duran, Brad Keller, Jose Alvarado, Tanner Banks, Orion Kerkering and Jonathan Bowlan, a five-pitch right-hander with a 96 mph avg fastball acquired from the Royals in December for Matt Strahm.

That leaves two spots for a group of a dozen relievers, some of whom are veterans, some of whom have pitched for the Phillies before and some of whom would be debuting in the majors.

The competition includes Max Lazar, Zach Pop, Zach McCambley, Seth Johnson, Chase Shugart, Kyle Backhus, Nolan Hoffman and non-roster invitees Tim Mayza, Lou Trivino, Genesis Cabrera, Trevor Richards.

Prediction: McCambley and Backhus

McCambley was the Phillies' Rule 5 pick from the Marlins after a strong year at Triple A, and the Phils have cited him as a potential stifling option against same-handed hitters. Righties are just 29-for-159 (.182) against him the last two seasons at Triple A and Double A.

As a Rule 5 pick, McCambley would have to be passed through waivers and/or offered back to the Marlins for $50,000 if he is not on the Opening Day team or removed from the active roster without an injury.

Backhus is a submarining lefty with a completely different look than everyone in the Phillies' bullpen and that matters. You don't want bullpens filled with the same deliveries or repertoires, and it can disrupt hitters' timing when a more traditional right-hander is followed by a funky southpaw.

Lefties hit just .139 against Kyle Backhus in 2025. He allowed 3 homers in 32 games (25.1 innings) with 22 strikeouts. https://t.co/y9kMmnnGCO pic.twitter.com/9fl0JPtMyy
— Luke Arcaini (@ArcainiLuke) December 19, 2025

It also works in Backhus' favor that he has minor-league options remaining. Flexibility is crucial in the final spot of a team's bullpen because you need the ability to send a guy down for a fresh arm when the bullpen has been taxed.

The only aforementioned relievers with options remaining are Backhus, Lazar, Johnson, Shugart, and Hoffman.

It doesn't mean Trivino, Mayza, Cabrera et al. have no shot, it just seems unlikely that the Phillies would award both of their open bullpen jobs to relievers who cannot be moved back and forth from minors to majors.