What Phillies' Triple A Rotation Could Look Like in 2026

Two of the Phillies' next four Grapefruit League games will be started by pitchers who won't be on the Opening Day roster but could find themselves in a position to contribute at some point in 2026.

Alan Rangel, 28, started Tuesday in Port Charlotte against the Tampa Bay Rays, and 24-year-old Jean Cabrera is scheduled to face the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday in Bradenton.

Both right-handers will almost certainly be in the Phillies' Triple A rotation when the Lehigh Valley IronPigs' season begins on March 27.

What might the rest of the Triple A staff look like? It's a group Phillies fans will get to know better over the next two weeks while Cristopher Sanchez, Aaron Nola and Taijuan Walker miss time in camp pitching for the Dominican Republic, Italy and Mexico in the World Baseball Classic.

The Phillies don't have a ton of starting pitching depth, so this is the quintet they'd pluck from if there is an early-season injury before Zack Wheeler is ready to rejoin the rotation.

Bryse Wilson

The Phillies signed the 28-year-old sinkerballer to a minor-league contract in mid-December. Wilson has big-league time with four different teams — the Braves, Brewers, Pirates and White Sox — over eight seasons.

Wilson had two effective years with the Brewers in 2023 as a long reliever (2.58 ERA in 76⅔ innings) and in 2024 in a hybrid role. Last season with the White Sox, he did more bouncing back and forth than ever before and struggled with a 6.65 ERA in 20 appearances.

"Throw the best that I can to give myself a good chance to make a team or be somebody that can be called up when there's a hole to fill," Wilson said last week in the Phillies' Clearwater clubhouse.

Wilson entered Tuesday as the Phillies' early innings leader in camp with four. He started their Grapefruit League opener on Feb. 21 in Dunedin with two scoreless innings against the Blue Jays, then threw 33 pitches over two innings of relief last Friday against the Marlins.

The Phillies will continue to stretch him out throughout camp.

"Whether I build up to five or six innings is up to them but at least get up to three or four innings just so I can cover the long role if need be," Wilson said.

It is unlikely the Phillies will dedicate a season-opening bullpen spot to a long man. They have five days off in their first 29 games, so the starters will get extra rest. And they have a few arms — Jonathan Bowlan, Tanner Banks — who can cover more than an inning if required.

Tucker Davidson

Davidson, who turns 30 on March 25, could be the lone lefty in Lehigh Valley's season-opening rotation. He spent most of last season in Korea, where he pitched to a 3.65 ERA in 22 starts.

Davidson was waived by his KBO team last August when it signed former Phillie Vince Velasquez. He came back to the States on a minor-league deal with the Brewers and made six starts at Triple A down the stretch.

Davidson has made 56 big-league appearances since 2020 with 17 starts, most of them in 2022 with the Angels and Braves. He has not pitched well in the majors as a starter or reliever but has struck out 265 in 263 career innings at Triple A with a 3.87 ERA.

"Overall, this is a really good organization to be in," he said last week. "They've done really good things to a lot of pitchers. That was a big thing, who is going to help me continue to get better throughout the offseason and throughout the season? It's also a winning ballclub and that's something every free agent wants to be part of."

The opportunity here appealed to Davidson because he was intrigued by what the Phillies' pitching coaches may be able to unlock for him, and because he doesn't mind pitching at Triple A until a chance arises.

"They really like my sweeper," he said. "It's just, let's throw it more often and throw it in the zone more often. And just utilizing my splitter to both sides of the plate.

"You never know what's going to happen. It's a long season. I've been on teams that are super healthy throughout the year and I've been part of teams that have been very injured. You might get an opportunity out of camp if you throw well, or hey, you're going to go down to Lehigh and continue to get stretched out as a starter. That's something I was really willing to do."

Davidson has not yet appeared in a Grapefruit League game.

Jean Cabrera

Cabrera is unquestionably the starting pitching depth piece from this group with the most upside for the Phillies. The 24-year-old is ranked 15th by MLB Pipeline on their 2026 top prospects list, released Monday.

He is not big (6'0") and doesn't have overpowering velocity (93-95 mph), but Cabrera has found minor-league success with his sinker- changeup-slider combination after signing with the Phillies for just $10,000 in the summer of 2019 as an international free agent.

Cabrera posted a 3.81 ERA in 137 innings last season at Double A and held right-handed hitters to a .201 batting average. He was especially effective away from Reading's hitter-friendly home park with a 3.29 ERA and 1.02 WHIP compared to 4.58 and 1.53 at home.

A cool 9 Ks from Jean Cabrera 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/ohc0udZoEk
— Phillies Player Development (@PhilsPlayerDev) July 30, 2025

Cabrera is squarely in the mix if the Phillies need a spot starter in 2026 and has a far better chance than the others to contribute beyond this season, even if it might be as a back-end starter.

Alan Rangel

The 28-year-old made five appearances out of the Phillies' bullpen last season, pitching three innings of relief last June in Pittsburgh for his MLB debut, then finishing off a 13-0 win in Atlanta with five scoreless innings.

Rangel also threw 125 innings at Triple A. Overall, he performed well enough to put himself back in the mix for spot starting or bulk duty should the need arise at the major-league level in 2026.

Rangel will join Walker on Team Mexico for the WBC after Tuesday's start.

Connor Gillispie

The Phillies brought in the 28-year-old righty on a minor-league deal as camp opened. Like Davidson, he hasn't appeared in a big-league spring training game for them yet.

Gillispie started in each of the first six turns through the Miami Marlins' rotation last season and went 0-3 with an 8.65 ERA. One of those outings came against the Phillies on April 20 and he allowed four runs over five innings.

Gillispie was sent down to Triple A on April 27 and designated for assignment by the Fish on June 19. He was claimed by the Minnesota Twins off waivers four days later and made eight appearances (seven starts) for their Triple A affiliate in St. Paul before becoming a free agent at season's end.

In 39 career starts at Triple A, Gillispie has a 4.99 ERA. He is not a hard thrower, averaging 91.3 mph with his fastball last season. His slider is his main secondary pitch and he has an interesting setup to his delivery, keeping his glove low and away from his body.

Curet and Chace

Another minor-leaguer with starting experience in camp with the Phillies is 23-year-old Yoniel Curet, who made 80 starts in the Rays' farm system. The Phillies view him more as a reliever, though.

Curet and fellow right-hander Moises Chace, 22, are both on the Phils' 40-man roster. Chace was their return piece in the 2024 trade deadline deal that sent reliever Gregory Soto to the Orioles. This season will be mostly about rehab for Chace following elbow surgery last June.