The Phillies met with Bo Bichette virtually earlier this week, but instead of landing the two-time All-Star, they will now have to contend with him in the National League East.
Less than 24 hours after losing out to the Dodgers on the Kyle Tucker sweepstakes, the Mets made a quick pivot and agreed to terms with Bichette, per multiple reports. The deal is for three years and $126 million, first reported by The Athletic. It contains no deferrals and opt-outs after the first and second years.
The Phillies immediately made a pivot of their own, and agreed to terms with catcher J.T. Realmuto on a three-year, $45 million contract according to multiple reports. The deal includes incentives that could reach as high as $60 million.
The contract will take Realmuto through his age-37 season.
He is coming off a down year offensively, slashing .257/.315/.384 with 12 homers, but has remained one of the top defensive catchers in baseball with a game-planning and pitch-calling ability that is highly touted by many Phillies pitchers.
“I’ve had a lot of great catchers I’ve been around. [Jorge] Posada. [Iván] Rodríguez for a short period of time. It goes on and on and on,” manager Rob Thomson said in October. “This guy, to me, is the most prepared guy I’ve ever been around as a catcher.”
Re-signing Realmuto, who has backstopped the Phillies since 2019, had been a main focus of the club throughout the offseason. But while both parties were apart on a deal, the Phillies began to show interest in adding Bichette as a lineup upgrade.
Bichette spent the first six years of his career with the Blue Jays as a shortstop. A right-handed contact hitter, Bichette posted a .311 batting average in 2025, second in the American League behind Aaron Judge. He injured his knee in September but returned for Toronto’s lineup in the World Series, playing second base for the first time in his major league career.
The Mets have an established shortstop in Francisco Lindor and traded for second baseman Marcus Semien earlier this offseason. Per multiple reports, Bichette is expected to play third base for the Mets, a position he has not played before.
The Phillies’ interest in Bichette had increased over the last few weeks with catcher J.T. Realmuto still unsigned. Bichette also has a close relationship with former Blue Jays bench coach Don Mattingly, who the Phillies hired in January.
The international signing period opened Thursday, and the Phillies officially signed one of the top-ranked prospects in this year’s class.
Venezuelan center fielder Francisco Renteria, ranked the No. 3 international prospect in 2026 by MLBPipeline, signed with the Phillies for a $4 million bonus, according to Baseball America.
The 17-year-old Renteria’s biggest tool is his raw power, while he also has speed and athleticism. At 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds, he has experience playing against older opponents in Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. Last month, he put on a show at a Venezuelan home run derby with 18 homers.
Parte de la actuación del súper prospecto de Las Águilas del Zulia Francisco Rentería en el Home Run Derby.
Renteria’s bonus is the second-highest for an international prospect in the 2026 class. It is also the highest for a Phillies international amateur signing since 2015, when Dominican outfielder Jhailyn Ortiz signed for $4 million.
Ortiz was ranked the Phillies’ No. 18 prospect in 2020, though he did not reach the majors. He ascended to triple A in 2023 but became a free agent after the season and has since played in independent leagues.
Aroon Escobar is the highest-ranked international signee prospect in the Phillies system. The second baseman signed out of Venezuela in 2022 for $450,000 and is ranked the Phillies’ No. 5 prospect by MLBPipeline.
For the first time since he was a teenager, Ranger Suárez is not a Phillie.
The left-hander agreed to a five-year, $130 million contract with the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday, according to multiple reports, including the New York Post.
The Phillies signed Suárez out of Venezuela as a 16-year-old, and he developed into an All-Star and key member of their starting rotation, known for his unflappable nature on the mound. In 2022, he threw the pitch that clinched the Phillies’ National League pennant. Suárez, 30, owns a 1.48 career postseason ERA.
Despite a fastball that averaged just 90.5 mph in 2025, Suárez was extremely effective at limiting hard contact, with just a 5.5% barrel rate and a 31.3% hard-hit rate.
However, with Andrew Painter expected to compete for a rotation spot in 2026 and Suárez primed for a payday as one of the top lefties on the market, a reunion with the Phillies always seemed unlikely.
Suárez also has past injury concerns. His 157⅓ innings in 2025 were a career high after he started the season on the injured list with back stiffness.
Now he’ll head to the American League East. The Red Sox pivoted to improving their rotation after third baseman Alex Bregman signed a five-year deal with the Chicago Cubs.
Since Suárez declined the Phillies’ qualifying offer, they will receive a compensatory draft pick after the fourth round in the 2026 draft.
Fellow left-hander Jesús Luzardo is entering his final year of team control in 2026. During an appearance this week on Phillies Extra, The Inquirer’s baseball podcast, Luzardo said he would be “really interested in” a contract extension with the Phillies.
Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has said repeatedly over the offseason that bringing back Realmuto, who has backstopped the team since 2019, remains a priority. And that isn’t just the sentiment in the front office. Shortly after Kyle Schwarber signed his own five-year extension in December, he shot a text to Realmuto to try to coax him to do the same.
“He’s one of the best catchers in the game,” Cristopher Sánchez said in September. “We’re basically nothing without him.”
Five years ago, when Realmuto signed his last contract with the Phillies, they didn’t come to an agreement until Jan. 26. But if the sides don’t reach a deal this time, what happens at catcher?
Here’s a breakdown of the Phillies’ options behind the plate if they don’t reunite with Realmuto:
Rafael Marchán made just 30 starts as the backup to J.T. Realmuto last season.
Option 1: Internal
Entering the 2025 season, the Phillies anticipated giving Realmuto, who will be 35 in March, more time off to prioritize his health. In spring training, manager Rob Thomson even floated the idea of Realmuto seeing time in left field, since the designated hitter spot was taken by Schwarber.
That suggestion never went anywhere. And in fact, rather than cut back, Realmuto played 134 games in 2025 and avoided spending any time on the injured list. Of those games, 132 were behind the plate, which tied him with 26-year-old Patrick Bailey of the Giants for most defensive games played as a catcher in the National League.
That also meant that backup catcher Rafael Marchán made only 30 starts.
The Phillies agreed to terms on 2026 contracts with Marchán and Garrett Stubbs this offseason, and they are the only catchers on the Phillies’ 40-man roster. If bringing back Realmuto isn’t in the cards and the Phillies stick with the status quo, it likely would mean a large increase in workload for the 26-year-old Marchán, who also has an injury history.
Marchán, a switch-hitter, had a .210 batting average and .587 OPS in 118 plate appearances last season. He was solid defensively in a small sample size, with a 96th percentile pop time of 1.88 seconds and catching four runners stealing above average.
In 2024, Marchán was limited to 55 games between the minors and majors because of lower back and shoulder injuries.
Stubbs saw more consistent at-bats in triple A, where he spent most of the season before being called up in September when rosters expanded. He hit .265 with a .754 OPS for Lehigh Valley, where he also developed a rapport with top pitching prospect Andrew Painter.
Neither has played more than 54 major league games in a season. It would be a significant gamble for the Phillies to rely on a Marchán-Stubbs tandem without bringing in an external option.
Stubbs and Marchán are out of options in 2026, and the catching depth beyond them is thin. To bolster it, the Phillies signed Mark Kolozsvary to a minor league deal in December and René Pinto to a minor league deal last week. They likely join Paul McIntosh and Caleb Ricketts as depth options in the minors next season.
Kolozsvary, 30, played 30 games last season between the Boston Red Sox’ double-A and triple-A affiliates and landed on the full-season injured list in June. He hasn’t made a major league appearance since 2023.
Pinto played 19 games for the Rays in 2024, hitting .214 with a .721 OPS. The 29-year-old spent the majority of last season in triple A between the Diamondbacks and Blue Jays organizations. He slashed .259/.309/.498 in 64 games.
Veteran catcher Victor Caratini posted 0.9 WAR with the Astros in 2025.
Option 2: Free agency
Realmuto remains the top catcher available in free agency ranked by wins above replacement (2.5 bWAR in 2025).
Several other options are off the board in an overall thin market for catchers this winter. Danny Jansen signed a two-year contract with the Rangers, and James McCann signed a one-year deal with the Diamondbacks.
After Realmuto, Victor Caratini, 32, is one of the more established names remaining. The switch-hitter slashed .259/.324/.404 in 114 games for the Astros in 2025 with 12 homers. He posted 0.9 WAR in 2025.
Jonah Heim is another veteran option after he was nontendered by the Rangers in November, two seasons removed from being an All-Star selection and Gold Glove winner in 2023. He hit .213 with 11 home runs in 124 games and posted 0.4 WAR last season.
Heim averaged minus-1 blocks above average and caught minus-1 runners stealing above average.
Option 3: Trade
The most likely path to find a catching replacement comparable to Realmuto would be via trade. There’s already been some movement elsewhere, with the Nationals acquiring the Mariners’ top catching prospect, Harry Ford, in exchange for reliever José A. Ferrer in December.
There hasn’t been much buzz lately around the Orioles’ Adley Rutschman, who was the subject of trade rumors after Baltimore signed top prospect Samuel Basallo to an eight-year extension in August.
Orioles president of baseball operations Mike Elias told reporters at his season-end news conference that “Adley’s the guy. He will be our front-line catcher.”
The Twins have so far retained catcher Ryan Jeffers, who is entering his final season of team control. But dealing the 28-year-old could be a way for the Twins to recoup some assets as they continue building for the future after their trade-deadline fire sale in 2025. Jeffers hit .266 with a .752 OPS in 119 games last season.
Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson, 29, also becomes a free agent in 2027 and could be a trade chip for Cincinnati, which has some flexibility at the position. The Reds have locked up Jose Trevino as their backup and also claimed Ben Rortvedt off waivers from the Dodgers in November.
Stephenson hit .231 with a .737 OPS over 88 games in 2025.
There was a point last season when Don Mattingly was planning on calling it a career.
He went into 2025, his third year as the bench coach with the Blue Jays, expecting it to be his last in the sport. Mattingly, now 64, thought he had accomplished what he had set out to do in Toronto, helping a younger manager in John Schneider become established.
But it was his 11-year-old son, Louis, who helped change his mind.
“Dad, you can’t stop,” Louis told him. “You’ve got to keep going.”
And after Toronto fell to the Dodgers in Game 7 of the World Series — marking Mattingly’s first World Series appearance in more than 40 years in baseball as a player, manager, and coach — he was approached by the Phillies for their open bench coach job.
The position had been vacated after Mike Calitiri was moved to the role of major league field coordinator at the end of the season. The fit was natural on both sides. The Phillies wanted a veteran voice to add to manager Rob Thomson’s staff. Mattingly managed the Dodgers from 2011-15 and the Marlins from 2016-22.
He had also previously worked alongside Thomson and hitting coach Kevin Long in the Yankees organization, as well as assistant hitting coach Edwar Gonzalez with the Marlins.
And he will reunite with another of his sons, Preston Mattingly, who is the Phillies’ 38-year-old general manager.
“When it came to me that there was a possibility that Donny was going to be available, I said, ‘This is the perfect guy,’” Thomson said Monday after the Phillies announced that Mattingly’s hiring was official. “Because I know the integrity, I know the knowledge. I know how detailed he is. And plus, I think he’s a great sounding board for our players and our stars. He’s been there, and he’s done all these things, and the rest of us really can’t answer that.”
Thomson’s contract was recently extended through 2027, and Mattingly said Monday he had committed to “a couple of years” with the Phillies’ manager.
He also said he has no further aspirations to be a manager again. His approach as a bench coach is to be another set of eyes and ears for Thomson.
A six-time All-Star, Don Mattingly was a career .307 hitter over 14 seasons with the Yankees.
“I know it gets busy and fast at times when you’re thinking about your pitching, and then you got a pitch-hit situation, and all those things get fast,” Mattingly said. “ … Try to stay ahead of him and just lighten the load for him.”
Mattingly’s playing career, during which he was a six-time All-Star, nine-time Gold Glove winner at first base, and 1985 American League MVP, also influences how he coaches.
“The one thing I’ve tried to always do is never forget how hard the game is,” Mattingly said. “Guys make a lot of money, and we expect them to come through all the time, and that’s just not that way. … I’m always going to try to be myself [in] any role that I’ve played, as a coach or a hitting coach or manager, I feel like I’m here to help players. I’m here to serve, help them get the best out of their ability.”
Mattingly managed Phillies pitcher Jesús Luzardo on the Marlins, and is looking forward to developing relationships with the other Phillies players. He met Bryce Harper at the 2017 All-Star Game in Miami.
“He’s always been a guy for me who’s been really interesting, just because of how young he was when he came [up], how good he was when he broke into the league, watching his development over the years,” Mattingly said of Harper. “This cat can go, for me. He’s a first-ballot Hall of Famer, hands down. So I love being around guys like that.”
It’s a bit of an unusual arrangement to have his son in the front office, but Mattingly said his priority is preserving trust with the players.
Don Mattingly, then the Marlins manager, talks with Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski before a game in 2022.
“I’m not a voice that’s just running upstairs and talking about anything and everything,” he said. “That’s just not the way I operate. I came from a different era where that is not something that happens. I’m going to have to build that trust with players so they will trust me that that’s not going to happen.”
But there is also the possibility for a storybook ending for Mattingly’s career. He had hoped last season that Toronto would meet the Phillies in the World Series to go head-to-head with Preston. Now, they’re on the same side.
“To be able to do it with him would be incredible,” Mattingly said.
It’s not unusual for a pitcher’s velocity to increase a little after transitioning from starting to relieving. But when Brad Keller moved to the Chicago Cubs bullpen last season, his fastball jumped over 3 miles per hour.
The increased zing — an average of 93.7 mph in 2024 became 97.1 mph last year — was followed by a career season. Keller posted a 2.07 ERA and 0.962 WHIP in 69⅔ innings with the Cubs, primarily pitching in a setup role. And he parlayed that into a two-year, $22 million contract with the Phillies last week.
“There’s nothing like the adrenaline spike when the phone rings and your name’s called,” Keller said on Monday. “So I really grew into that.”
Behind closer Jhoan Duran, Keller is set to become one of the Phillies’ top right-handed relief options along with Orion Kerkering. The Phillies also added righty Jonathan Bowlan to the mix last week in a trade for Matt Strahm. Another righty in competition for a bullpen spot will be Zach Pop, whom the Phillies signed to a major league deal on Monday. Pop, 29, has a 4.88 ERA in 162⅓ career innings, and spent most of last season in triple A in the Mariners and Mets organizations.
“We love Keller. We think he’s one of the best in the business, the way he stepped up last year as a reliever with the Cubs,” Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said. “So we really like the way the bullpen now shapes up.”
It wasn’t just the move to the bullpen that led to Keller’s velocity increase last year. He also made some key mechanical adjustments, focusing on using his lower body more. And most important, Keller felt completely healthy.
The right-hander had thoracic outlet decompression surgery during the 2023 offseason, a procedure that Phillies ace Zack Wheeler also underwent on Sept. 23. Before his diagnosis with thoracic outlet syndrome, Keller’s hand would swell up so much because of the lack of blood flow that he couldn’t grip a baseball.
Keller returned to the mound in the spring of 2024 after signing with the Chicago White Sox. He said he didn’t quite feel like himself until the All-Star break.
Like Zack Wheeler, new Phillies pitcher Brad Keller has undergone thoracic outlet decompression surgery.
“Granted, I kind of rushed my rehab because I had surgery in the offseason,” he said. “And I was a free agent that year, and I really tried to be with the team and finish rehab with the team, and then kind of roll through there.”
Keller was designated for assignment by the White Sox in May 2024 and spent the rest of that season in the Red Sox organization.
“I just carried that second half into last year, where it’s like, ‘All right, that’s in the rearview. I feel good. I don’t have to worry about that stuff anymore,’” Keller said.
When Keller signed with the Cubs last January, it was to be a starter. But after the deal came together late in the offseason, and the Cubs underwent an accelerated spring training before the Tokyo Series, he wasn’t fully built up. Chicago tried him out in the bullpen. And not only did Keller find success there, he also enjoyed the new role.
The Phillies believe the 97-mph version of Keller is here to stay.
“All of our scouting work, our analytical work, our pitching people that have taken a look at him, between [pitching coach] Caleb [Cotham] and the rest of the group,” Dombrowski said, “people that we’ve talked to feel like, ‘OK, this is him now.’ I mean, he’s a legit back-end-type guy.”
Keller still has a starter’s arsenal, using a five-pitch mix of four-seam, sinker, slider, changeup, and sweeper, which he introduced last season. He and Cotham have already discussed ways he could improve the newest offering.
“He thinks very similar to how I think about things,” said Keller, 30. “And he brought up some ideas of things that we feel like would be fun things to try, like throwing sweepers to lefties, changeups to righties, things like that that’s kind of a little unorthodox.”
This winter, other teams inquired about Keller’s willingness to return to a starting role. He said he was open to it, but he had more fun coming out of the bullpen.
Most fun of all, though, was experiencing the playoffs for the first time in his career. Keller had a 1.59 ERA in five postseason appearances with the Cubs in 2025, recording two saves and one hold. One of his biggest priorities in free agency this winter was joining a contender.
“Once you get a taste of that,” Keller said, “that’s what you crave every single year.”
With the addition of Adolis García, the Phillies’ outfield picture for 2026 has come into focus.
García, who signed a one-year, $10 million deal with the Phillies on Tuesday, will get the opportunity to be the Phillies’ everyday right fielder. And now the outfield is “pretty well set,” according to president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski.
Their top priority now becomes the catcher position, and bringing back J.T. Realmuto is the main focus.
“We just continue to grind along and see if we can come up with a solution,” Dombrowski said. “We’ve talked consistently about trying to sign J.T., and we remain that way. But we haven’t been able to get it done so far.”
As it stands, García will slot into right field, with Brandon Marsh in left — likely in a platoon role with Otto Kemp — and Justin Crawford will get an opportunity to be the everyday center fielder. The Phillies have already made clear their intention of cutting ties with Nick Castellanos this offseason.
“We like the players,” Dombrowski said. “We think Brandon Marsh is a good player. He hasn’t taken the next step vs. left-handed pitching. We’ve talked about that. Will he do it? I’m not sure, but we do like Otto Kemp. We think when we look at ourselves, that that’s one of the best combos in left field, if you look at the two of them. Adolis, we think, helps us in right field. It gives us an improvement there. And we think Justin is going to be a good player.”
By committing to this configuration, the Phillies are taking a few gambles. First, they’re betting on García returning to his 2023 form, when he hit .245 with an .836 OPS and helped power the Texas Rangers to the World Series title.
Since then, García has seen a drop-off in his performance at the plate. Last season, the righty slashed .227/.271/.394 with a 93 OPS+, and he was non-tendered by the Rangers in November. Underlying those numbers, García’s chase rate of 29.3% in 2023 increased to 35.7% in 2025.
Defensively, though, he remained reliable, recording +1 outs above average and +16 defensive runs saved in right field.
It’s a familiar bet for Dombrowski, who took a similar risk on Max Kepler a year ago on another one-year, $10 million contract.
“He needs to be more under control with the swing,” Dombrowski said. “We don’t need him to hit the ball out of the ballpark on every swing or every at-bat. We think he can do that. And our hitting coaches, to me, that’s one of the things that they do very well with working with individuals. It’s a matter of not trying to do too much. …
“The tools are there. The ball jumps off his bat, still. Bat speed is still there. Exit velocity is very good. So those are all things that we feel encouraged about.”
Adolis García will be an upgrade defensively over Nick Castellanos in right field.
García’s average exit velocity of 92.1 mph in 2025 was the same as his 2023 marker. His bat speed of 72.1 mph dipped slightly from 73.6 mph in 2023.
The Phillies plan to send hitting coach Kevin Long or assistant hitting coach Edwar Gonzalez to meet with García where he’s training in Tampa to start working.
“I want to be able to focus on being a better version of myself, to add a piece to this winning team,” García said through an interpreter. “There’s a great team involved. I just want to go and play my defense, and hopefully my bat will be there. And I just want to be a piece that contributes to this good team.”
Phillies manager Rob Thomson said he has made no decisions on where García might hit in the lineup, but he could potentially be protection for the Phillies’ left-handed bats.
The other gamble the Phillies are making with their 2026 outfield is handing the keys in center field to Crawford, who has yet to make his major league debut.
The Phillies repeatedly said that they felt Crawford was ready for the majors last season, when he hit .334 and stole 46 bases in triple A, but he did not have a path to regular playing time. In 2026, the road will be wide-open.
The Phillies are giving Justin Crawford the opportunity to take over in center field and “have a chance to play a lot” in 2026.
“If you’re going to give Crawford an opportunity, you’ve got to give it to him,” Dombrowski said. “And that’s where we are. We’re going to give him the opportunity to go out there and have a chance to play a lot.”
Thomson said he called Crawford, who turns 22 in January, on Monday night.
“I knew that he was going to hear about the Adolis deal and being a young kid, I just wanted to reiterate the fact that he’s coming into camp to win a job, and signing a Adolis does not affect Justin at all,” Thomson said. “Again, I want him to come into camp, be himself, and if he is himself, he’ll make this club.”
ORLANDO — The Phillies’ cohort will leave Disney World on Thursday with more clarity than when they arrived.
By signing Kyle Schwarber to a five-year, $150 million deal on Tuesday at the winter meetings, the Phillies now have a better sense of direction for the rest of their offseason.
“I feel a lot better leaving the meetings than I did coming into the meetings because we filled a big spot,” Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said. “And with that, we’ve been able to proceed forward.”
Schwarber was the first major domino to fall this free agency cycle. Pete Alonso followed on Wednesday, agreeing to terms with the Orioles, according to multiple outlets.
From his point of view, Schwarber felt like his free agency process was a “standard” length of time.
“I felt like I got all the information I needed to make a decision, and I wanted to be respectful of everyone,” he said. “That’s how I operate. I wanted to be respectful of the Phillies. I wanted to be respectful to the other teams I talked to. And I know that there’s a long road in the offseason, but also, too, I wanted to make sure that I had the time to decide.”
The Phillies are optimistic about bringing back J.T. Realmuto (left) after re-signing Kyle Schwarber to a five-year, $150 million contract.
While the process itself wasn’t rushed, Schwarber was in a rush to get his physical completed in Philadelphia after coming to an agreement. He and his wife Paige are expecting the birth of their daughter very soon.
And now, instead of worrying about contingency plans to fill a Schwarber-sized hole in the lineup, the Phillies can focus their attention on other areas of need.
One area they have already started to address is the bullpen. Dombrowski said this week that the Phillies have five spots in the bullpen that are solidified — lefties José Alvarado, Matt Strahm, and Tanner Banks, and righties Jhoan Duran and Orion Kerkering — but there could be competition for the final three spots.
The Phillies added some potential relief depth on Wednesday with a trade for right-hander Yoniel Curet from the Rays in exchange for minor league pitcher Tommy McCollum. In 2024, Curet was Tampa Bay’s No. 18 prospect by MLB Pipeline, but he dealt with a shoulder injury in 2025 that limited him to 55⅓ innings.
He was designated for assignment by the Rays earlier this week, but the Phillies were intrigued by his fastball.
They also were intrigued by Marlins right-hander Zach McCambley and selected him in Wednesday’s Rule 5 draft.
“It’s a pretty much a heavy cutter/slider attack with a good fastball that sits 94 up to 96 [mph],” said Phillies director of professional scouting Mike Ondo. “The guy throws strikes, and he’s really, really tough on right-handed hitters. And I think that was one of the big appeals for us.”
McCambley has experience as a starter and a reliever, and the Phillies liked his versatility.
There are other, bigger priorities still being worked on behind the scenes, and at the top of the list is catcher. Fresh off his own re-signing, Schwarber has joined the recruiting effort for J.T. Realmuto.
“I’d be lying that I didn’t send a text to J.T. trying to see where he’s at and try to coax him,” he said.
Reshaping the outfield also is a priority. Dombrowski reiterated this week the Phillies’ desire to find a “change of scenery” for Nick Castellanos.
Phillies outfielder Nick Castellanos will likely have a change of scenery in 2026.
“We’ve got work to do,” Dombrowski said of the outfield. “We’ve got a couple of options, with [Brandon] Marsh, and in this situation where we’ve talked about [Justin] Crawford, we’re going to give him that opportunity to make the club and we feel good about it. [Johan] Rojas is out there. We claimed [former Astro Pedro] León on waivers. We’ve got [Otto] Kemp that can go out there and play. …
“We’ve got work to do, is what it comes down to, and we continue to try to make things happen.”
Even with the areas that seem mostly set, there could be changes. Starting pitching wasn’t a big focus for the Phillies last winter, but they still traded for Jesús Luzardo, viewing it as an opportunity to improve. Dombrowski said they are staying “open-minded” this year, too.
But it sure helps that the first item on the to-do list is checked off.
“It’s given us then parameters on where we can go forward with different things and what we need to address,” Dombrowski said. “ … I feel very good in adding Schwarbs, because we know what he can be, and it’s one big need we do not have anymore.”
ORLANDO — To close out this year’s winter meetings, the Phillies selected right-handed pitcher Zach McCambley in the Rule 5 draft.
McCambley, 26, was in the Miami Marlins organization, and had a 2.90 ERA and 1.097 WHIP in 62 innings between double A and triple A. According to draft regulations, McCambley was assigned directly to the Phillies’ 26-man roster.
To be removed from the roster, he must be placed on outright waivers and offered back to Miami. But the Phillies think McCambley has a chance of impacting their club in 2026.
“When we drafted him, we had the feeling that he could make the team,” Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said. “And one of the things that we’ve talked about looking to have over the last few years is a right-handed person in the bullpen that dominates right-handed hitters. So we think he has a chance to do that.”
To further bolster their relief depth, the Phillies acquired reliever Yoniel Curet in exchange for minor league pitcher Tommy McCollum in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday. Curet had a 3.90 ERA in 55⅓ innings across rookie ball, double A, and triple A this year but missed some time because of a shoulder injury. He had been designated for assignment by the Rays.
Curet made 14 starts last season, but the Phillies are viewing him as a reliever.
“He has options available. He has an arm that we really like,” Dombrowski said. “He’s really been successful at the minor league level; plus-plus fastball. … We have roster spots, so we’re going to start building some depth and take advantage of it.”
Griff McGarry was selected by the Nationals in the Rule 5 draft after the Phillies chose not to protect him.
The Phillies lost right-hander Griff McGarry in the draft after opting to leave him unprotected for the second straight year. The 26-year-old was selected by the Washington Nationals with the third overall pick. McGarry has been unable to establish himself in triple A but had a bounce back season in 2025 with a 3.44 ERA. He won the Paul Owens Award as the Phillies’ top minor league pitcher.
“We liked him,” Dombrowski said. “We just think that he’d have a hard time staying with the big league club. We like his arm strength and like a lot of things about him. … It was just a risk that we took, figuring that we’d rather have the roster spot at that time. Wish him nothing but the best.”
It’s possible McGarry returns to the Phillies if he doesn’t make the Nationals out of camp. Last year, the Minnesota Twins selected Eiberson Castellano in the Rule 5 draft, but he was returned to the Phillies in March.
In the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft, in which there aren’t any roster restrictions for selections, the Phillies took infielder Austin Murr from the Detroit Tigers and right-handed pitcher Evan Gates from the San Francisco Giants. First baseman Carson Taylor was selected from the Phillies by the Seattle Mariners.
Even before the designated hitter agreed to a five-year, $150 million extension with the Phillies, he had already committed to playing for Team USA in the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
Schwarber joined Phillies teammates Trea Turner and J.T. Realmuto on Team USA in 2023, winning a silver medal. He hit two home runs in five games.
On a team with four MVPs and 21 All-Stars in 2023, Schwarber stood out, according to USA manager and Penn alumnus Mark DeRosa.
“He was the chemistry guy for me, last time,” DeRosa said. “He was the guy. Listen, there’s nerves in there. I don’t care how good a player you are. When you walk in a room full of superstars, and then the eyes of the world are on you, there’s pressure to perform in front of the greats. He attacks it.
“He’s in the dugout, [saying], ‘Everyone relax. Do what you do.’ Even to me, coming up, rubbing my shoulders, just like, ‘I got you.’ There’s just no panic with this guy.”
Schwarber is one of 10 players on the U.S. roster for 2026, joining outfielders Aaron Judge, Corbin Carroll, and Pete Crow-Armstrong, second baseman Brice Turang, shortstops Bobby Witt Jr. and Gunnar Henderson, catchers Cal Raleigh and Will Smith, and pitcher Paul Skenes. The final roster will have 30 players.
Kyle Schwarber celebrates with third base coach Dino Ebel after hitting a three-run home run against Great Britain in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
DeRosa said he circled back to speak with Schwarber on Sunday and had no idea that he was about to re-sign with the Phillies. He wanted to know where Schwarber preferred to hit in the lineup, as he spent several seasons as the Phillies’ leadoff man until 2025, when he primarily hit second in the order behind Turner.
“He honestly said, his quote was, ‘D, I don’t care where you hit me. I’m going to walk and hit homers. The leadoff spot, the second spot, the third spot,’” DeRosa said.
Team USA lost to Japan in the 2023 final, which ended on a duel between Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani. As the U.S. seeks to reclaim the title of world champion in March, the coaching staff believes Schwarber will be a key piece to the puzzle.
“I think it just goes to show how confident he is as a player and as a hitter and how great a guy he is,” DeRosa said. “He’s got that football mentality. He was a linebacker in high school, and he brings it right into the clubhouse. He’s got an infectious personality, and everyone loves him. And he backs it up.”
