DUNEDIN, Fla. — In 2022, the Phillies opened the season with a young center fielder. So, coach Paco Figueroa got Matt Vierling together for a meeting with the veterans on either side of him.
“I hit Nick [Castellanos] in the chest, and I’m like, ‘You’re the leader of him,’” Figueroa recalled telling Vierling. “I hit [Kyle] Schwarber in the chest. ‘You’re the leader of him.’ I told him, ‘Whatever happens to Nick, it’s your fault, and whatever happens to Schwarber.’
“You’re teaching him to think like, ‘I’m in control.’”
Four years later, Figueroa, the team’s first base, outfield, and base running coach has had a variation of that talk with Justin Crawford. Because the Phillies are committing to a 22-year-old rookie in center field, and they want to make sure everyone knows who’s in charge.
It was fitting, then, that Crawford led off the Grapefruit League season for the Phillies on Saturday. Six pitches into his first at-bat, he hit an elevated two-strike cutter from a major-league lefty (Toronto’s Eric Lauer) that one-hopped the wall in left-center field for a double.
As first impressions go, it was pitch perfect.
“That definitely feels good, getting the first one, first at-bat like that,” Crawford said, beaming after playing five innings of the Phillies’ 3-0 loss to the Blue Jays. “Yeah, it’s kind of nice to be able to get that and then just try to hopefully build off that.”
Justin Crawford doubles in the first inning against the Toronto Blue Jays in a spring training game in Dunedin, Fla., on Saturday.
OK, some perspective: It was an auspicious start, nothing more. Crawford was always going to play a lot this spring, but he figures to see even more at-bats than usual once camp empties out of teammates who are playing in the World Baseball Classic next month.
There’s time, then, for Crawford to keep refining a swing that produced a .322 average in the minors but also a high rate of ground balls. Near the end of last season, he moved his hands up, closer to his ear, to get his bat to the ball more quickly. He’s sticking with that for now. There will be additional tweaks.
But spring training will also be a time for Crawford to show he can handle center field. He played exclusively center in the minors until the second half of last season in triple A, when he made 30 starts in left.
And opinions were split, even among Phillies officials, over which outfield spot is his best right up until they decided to give him the keys to center.
“He can play,” said Figueroa, who has coached the Phillies’ outfielders since 2018. “Like any young guy, he’s going to get to the big leagues and you’ve got to be patient with him. But one thing that I see is his makeup. He just knows how important the X’s and O’s of the game is, the mental, the physical, the preparation. He’s great with that.”
It’s in Crawford’s blood. His dad, Carl, was a four-time All-Star outfielder. His godfather, Junior Spivey, played five seasons in the majors. His personal hitting coach, Mike Easler, had a 15-year career and won a World Series with the “We Are Family” Pirates in 1979.
Crawford focused in the offseason on a more efficient first step in the outfield. His track-star speed enables him to compensate for taking indirect routes to the ball. But he also knows he can be more precise.
Phillies outfielder Justin Crawford walks back to the clubhouse following Saturday’s spring training game against Toronto.
“It kind of started with my set-up and that kind of helped clean up my angles,” Crawford said. “Then I did different types of drills that kind of helped clean up my angles as well. And just in my training, first-step drills, fast-twitch [movements], things like that.”
Figueroa said the Phillies’ player-development staff didn’t highlight a particular skill that needs refinement. “It’s a little bit of everything,” according to Figueroa, who believes it all begins with the pre-pitch preparation.
The biggest test in the Grapefruit League opener came in the fourth inning. Crawford got a good jump on Addison Barger’s sinking liner and made a sliding catch.
“At this level, I think his speed is game-changing,” left fielder Otto Kemp said. “It’s game-changing on the base paths and even in the outfield. I’m excited to see him kind of take control in center field in Philly and just show everybody what he can do.”
To Figueroa, one of the best moments of camp came a few days ago. The Phillies were doing a drill — known as “pop-up priority” — that emphasizes communication within a hierarchy of defensive positions.
“We had all the guys out there, and it was like a high fly ball almost to where the shortstop could get it,” Figueroa said. “But he ran in there yelling. And look, he’s at the top of that pyramid. That’s him. So, that was a good to me of him taking charge.”
Surely, Saturday was another good step.
“The work that I do every day, especially with Paco and everybody we have here, it really helps me have more confidence,“ Crawford said. ”I truly feel like I could play that position and stick there.”
CLEARWATER, Fla. — From his third-floor office overlooking the Phillies’ spring-training ballpark, John Middleton can see clear sky for miles.
Never mind the creeping storm clouds.
“We’re way too far away from it,” Middleton said Friday. “I don’t know when in the next nine months, or whenever the heck it is, we’ll have a clearer sense of the landscape. But we sure as heck don’t have it now.”
So, why worry? Yes, baseball is barreling toward a labor battle that is expected to get nasty. The particulars: Many owners want a salary cap, similar to the NFL, NBA, and NHL; players have historically opposed all limits on wages. The collective bargaining agreement will expire Dec. 1, and a lockout seems inevitable, with the possibility that it could eat into next season.
But that’s 283 days away. There are 162 regular-season games from here to there, with an All-Star Game to host in July. And it will be another expensive season for Middleton and his ownership partners.
Last year, the Phillies’ luxury-tax payroll totaled $314.3 million, fourth-highest in the sport after the Dodgers, Mets, and Yankees. The Phillies paid a club-record $56.1 million in taxes and are bracing for a similar bill at the end of this year.
“Higher,” Middleton said.
Indeed, the projected payroll is $317 million. It will be the fifth consecutive season that the Phillies have gone into luxury-tax territory and the second year in a row they cleared the highest threshold ($304 million for 2026), which carries a 110% tax rate. Middleton said they’ve also budgeted $80 million in local revenue (tickets, concessions, media deals, etc.) for revenue sharing.
John Middleton and the Phillies missed out on signing Bo Bichette this offseason.
“Do the math,” he said. “You’re pushing $140 million in spending essentially [for] being taxed. If I had $140 million back, could I have a higher payroll? Yes. But that’s not happening, so I don’t think about that fantasy. But it’s a lot of money. It really is.”
It’s also life among the big spenders in baseball’s current economic system. Middleton doesn’t sit on the owners’ labor policy committee, which is headed by the Rockies’ Dick Monfort and includes the Yankees’ Hal Steinbrenner, and said he’s restricted by the National Labor Relations Act from speaking publicly about negotiations with the players’ union that are set to begin in late March.
But in a wide-ranging conversation with The Inquirer, Middleton said the Phillies’ offseason spending wasn’t impacted by the looming labor uncertainty. If anything, it was business as usual.
They re-signed Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto and added reliever Brad Keller and right fielder Adolis García. They were ready to make a seven-year, $200 million offer to free-agent infielder Bo Bichette, who signed a short-term (three years), higher-annual-salary ($42 million per year) deal with the Mets.
In all, the Phillies spent $227 million on free agents, then paid $19.2 million for Nick Castellanos to play elsewhere.
“Any time you get to the end of a collective bargaining agreement, you just never know what the next one’s going to look like,” Middleton said. “And the rules have changed [over the years]. So, you could make decisions in the year or two preceding a new CBA that you look back and you say, ‘Hmm, had I known this was going to be the new CBA with this new rule, I maybe would’ve done something different.’
“I just think the problem, if you give that too much weight, you don’t do things that you should be doing in today’s world with today’s sets of rules to win today. So, I would say we were aware of it, we talked about it, but it didn’t change any of the decisions that we made.”
Because Middleton is chasing that (dang) World Series trophy. It’s been 18 years since the Phillies won it. They went on an unexpected ride to Game 6 of the World Series in 2022 but haven’t won a postseason series since ‘23. They’re 2-8 in their last 10 postseason games.
Owner John Middleton wasn’t angry about the Phillies’ exit in the NLDS last season against the Dodgers.
Middleton, 70, has the sensibilities of a lifelong fan who grew up watching Dick Allen in the 1960s and the competitiveness of a former collegiate wrestler. He was disappointed after last year’s exit in the divisional round. But unlike the previous October, he wasn’t angry.
The Phillies went toe-to-toe with the vaunted Dodgers, holding them to 13 runs and a .199 batting average in four games. Their three losses came by a total of four runs. And don’t even get Middleton started on umpire Mark Wegner’s missed strike call on a 2-2 pitch to the Dodgers’ Alex Call with one out in the seventh inning of Game 4. Call walked on the next pitch and scored the tying run. Wegner later admitted that he got it wrong.
“Assuming he made the correct call, all of a sudden that’s a strike, [Call is] out, [the run] never scores, we win the game, we go to Game 5 two days later in Philadelphia,” Middleton said. “I’m not telling you we would have beaten the Dodgers because they beat us twice at home. But the Dodgers didn’t want to play us in Game 5 in Philadelphia. There’s not a chance in the world that they were looking forward to that prospect.”
Middleton acknowledges that the Dodgers, owned by Guggenheim Partners, have inherent financial advantages that only Steve Cohen, the billionaire hedge-fund manager who owns the Mets, can match.
The Phillies have won more regular-season games in each of the last four seasons. Attendance to Citizens Bank Park has risen from 2.23 million fans in 2022 to 3 million in 2023, 3.36 million in ‘24, and 3.37 million last season.
But in 2024, Middleton also added three new investors to the Phillies’ ownership group. At the time, he said it would “allow us to pursue our strategic growth opportunities and long-term goals.”
“Look, when Hal Steinbrenner publicly says the Yankees can’t do what the Dodgers are doing — and the Yankees for decades have been the team that can do pretty much whatever it wants — that’s telling,“ Middleton said. ”[The Dodgers] are smart, competent people, which makes them fierce competitors. And the fact that they’ve got some financial clout, particularly clout that other teams can’t match, it makes them even tougher competitors.
“But the division series that we lost was the first time in three years, I think, that we lost a series to them. We were 5-1 against the Dodgers in series prior to that. So, it’s not like we haven’t beaten the Dodgers consistently.”
Middleton touched on other subjects, with answers lightly edited for brevity and clarity:
Phillies owner John Middleton (right) says president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski (left) and Bryce Harper hashed out their differences recently.
Q: What was your perspective on Dave Dombrowski’s comments about whether Bryce Harper is still elite and the baseless rumors that followed about possibly trading him?
A: I just kind of chuckled to myself like, ‘Well, I guess they know something that I don’t know.’ The good news is Dave and Rob [Thomson] and Bryce talked it through after the last set of comments that Bryce made down here, and they’ve agreed that everything’s fine. I’m happy that they’ve reached that point, and I’m comfortable, confident that everything’s behind us now.
Q: You have a close relationship with Bryce. Did you personally call him to make sure everything was OK?
A: Nah. I’ve talked to Bryce over the years about other issues. But in Dave, you’re talking about one of the truly historically great GMs in the history of baseball. People in my position should not undermine their GMs and their head coaches, their managers. And when you have the background and the track record that Dave does, it’s particularly important that you understand your limitations [as an owner].
There have been times when Dave and I are talking about something, and he’ll look at me and say, ‘I’d like you to talk to the player.’ If he thought I needed to talk to Bryce, he would have been the first person to raise his hand and say, ‘John, it would be helpful if you talked to Bryce.’ He didn’t do it. Because Dave asked me to do it, I spent most of a day in Kyle Schwarber’s living room, at his kitchen table, because Dave said it would be helpful. And I talked to J.T. I’ll do whatever I need to do to be helpful, but I’m not going to force myself into a situation where I’m not needed.
Q: What’s your reaction to the narrative that the Phillies are “running it back” again with the same core that keeps falling short in October?
A: I understand the frustration. I will also tell you I do talk to a lot of fans, and there are clearly fans who voice the issue that you did. But I would tell you most of the fans understand. They look at it and they say, ‘OK, I get it. You were a missed call away from probably winning Game 4 and going on to Game 5.’ Not everybody’s going to acknowledge that. But it’s also not like we didn’t try. First of all, we re-signed Kyle. We could have let him go like the Mets, let [Edwin] Díaz go or [Pete] Alonso go. We re-signed J.T. We tried to sign Bichette. We actually thought we had a deal. At 11 o’clock that night, we had a deal, in our opinion. Not finalized. And the Mets did nothing that we wouldn’t have done and haven’t done, so I don’t blame the Mets. But you went to bed at 11 o’clock thinking we had a deal, and I woke up at 8 o’clock worried we didn’t have a deal, and two hours later, I knew we didn’t have a deal. So, it’s not like we didn’t try. We did try to tweak the team.
But go back to that [Phillies] team in ’76, ’77, ’78, they missed the World Series three years running. They go out and sign Pete Rose after the ’78 season. They promptly finish fourth in ’79 with theoretically a better team, and they ran it back in ’80. Now, that doesn’t mean we’re going to win the World Series in ’26 because the ’80 Phillies won the World Series after four tries. But you certainly don’t blow up teams. And it’s hard with a team that was good as that team was and our job is to improve it. You can look at certain places and say, ‘Well, you can improve it here or you can improve it there,’ but that means you have to go out and find the better player and bring that player in. Look, we tried to do that with Bichette. So, I get the frustration. I’m frustrated. I mean, Dave’s frustrated. Rob’s frustrated. A lot of the players are frustrated.
Going back to the Dodgers series, our players executed. You look at ’23 and ’24, even ’22 frankly a little bit, I think there were execution problems in those three years. I don’t feel that way about ’25.
Q: The Phillies have had a top-five payroll now for five years. Could you have ever envisioned a $317 million payroll?
A: So, the answer is yes. And I’d say yes because I think we have such a spectacular fan base. I trust the fan base. I have confidence in the fan base that, if we put the right team on the field, they’ll respond. And that doesn’t always happen. There’s plenty of examples in not just baseball, but other professional sports where there’s a team that’s really, really good and the fans yawn. And I knew that was never going to happen in Philadelphia. New York’s clearly a bigger market than Philadelphia, and they have higher prices than Philadelphia, so their seats sell for more, their hot dogs sell for more, their suites sell for more. But I always thought we could get reasonably close to them from a revenue standpoint, and then hopefully outcompete them. And look, I still feel that way.
Q: What has the ramp-up for the All-Star Game been like? How hectic are the next few months going to be?
A: I think we and MLB are better organized that I wouldn’t say it’s hectic. But there are a lot of details you have to get from the planning stage and the early conversation stage to a final decision and getting that decision implemented. And we’re kind of down that path so that we’ve kind of made final decisions on most everything. But now we’ve got to implement them, and that’s a whole other set of challenges. So, yeah, it’s nerve-wracking. I’m excited. I’m looking forward to it. I think of it like my daughter’s wedding. I’m excited, I’m looking forward to it, and I know I’ll be really happy the day after when I wake up and it’s done.
A year ago, Brad Keller was trying to win a job with the Cubs as a nonroster invitee to spring training. Now, he’s a key member of the Phillies’ bullpen on a two-year contract. And in a few days, he will join the most talented U.S. team ever assembled for the World Baseball Classic. Keller sat down with “Phillies Extra,” The Inquirer’s baseball podcast, to discuss how much has changed in a year, what led him to Philadelphia, why he believes he can duplicate his success in 2025, and more. Watch here:
CLEARWATER, Fla. — On the eve of spring training games, an annual reminder: They don’t count.
Not really. Stats are kept, but mostly as a formality. Hits don’t carry over into the season. Strikeouts are little more than a sugar rush for a pitcher. Win some, lose some, even tie some, and everyone’s record resets on March 25.
What do you do, then, if you’re Dylan Moore? A veteran of seven major league seasons, the 33-year-old utility man must have a good camp to make the Phillies’ opening-day roster after signing a minor-league contract 17 days ago.
Try telling him Grapefruit League games aren’t really real.
“To make an impression, you’ve got to be able to take it seriously and play it like it’s a game that’s meaningful,” Moore said Thursday after facing pitchers in live batting practice. “Because it is, you know? You want to see where you’re at, which is why you never want to go less than [full effort] just because it doesn’t matter. But yeah, it’s a balancing act.”
The Phillies will play 30 spring training games, including a March 4 exhibition against Canada’s entry in the World Baseball Classic. That’s a lot of faux innings for a team that has few jobs up for grabs.
Here, then, is an attempt to answer a few roster questions entering Saturday’s opener against the Blue Jays in neighboring Dunedin, based on reporting from the first eight days of camp:
Andrew Painter is a leading candidate to occupy a spot in the Phillies’ season-opening starting rotation.
Who will take the fifth (starter spot)?
Zack Wheeler played catch from 120 feet the other day and is scheduled to do so again Friday while incorporating more spin on the ball. The Phillies haven’t said when he will progress to a mound.
But nothing has changed. Five months after having a rib removed to relieve pressure on a vein that was compressed between his collarbone and rib cage, Wheeler won’t be ready to start the season on time, which creates a vacancy in the starting rotation.
Upon returning from the World Baseball Classic, Cristopher Sánchez (Dominican Republic), Aaron Nola (Italy), and Taijuan Walker (Mexico) will join Jesús Luzardo in the starting rotation. Nobody will say it, but the last spot is Andrew Painter’s to lose.
Painter didn’t pitch in 2023 or ’24 because of a torn elbow ligament that necessitated Tommy John surgery. But after a healthy, 118-inning season in the minors, most of which came in triple A, he’s unburdened by usage restrictions this spring.
Ideally, the Phillies want Painter to not only earn his spot but also to keep it once Wheeler returns. Either way, it’s time for the 22-year-old (turning 23 in April) to step forward.
“Obviously Painter had a tough year in triple A,” Bryce Harper said, referring to a 5.40 ERA in 22 starts. “That first year coming back from Tommy John is really tough. I’m hoping he bounces back this year. We need him to.”
Lefty reliever Kyle Backhus has a chance to win a spot in the bullpen after coming over in a trade with the Diamondbacks.
How does the bullpen shape up?
Get to know this name: Kyle Backhus.
The Phillies acquired Backhus from the Diamondbacks for a minor-league outfielder on the same day in December that they sent Matt Strahm to the Royals for reliever Jonathan Bowlan. Backhus has minor league options, but Thomson mentioned him last month as a bullpen candidate.
And the hitters, including Trea Turner, who faced Backhus in live batting practice Thursday were impressed with the sidearming lefty, who had a 4.62 ERA in 32 games last season for Arizona.
“They said he was tough to pick up,” Thomson said. “He starts from the third base side. He’s a crossfire guy. It’s a really low slot, so you don’t see that. It’s tough, really tough to pick up.”
The Phillies haven’t had a lefty reliever with such a low arm slot in years. Thomson would like a third lefty in the bullpen, although he said it isn’t a necessity. Backhus would fit in behind José Alvarado and Tanner Banks.
Orion Kerkering has been slowed in camp by a hamstring injury. But health permitting, closer Jhoan Duran, Brad Keller, Alvarado, Kerkering, Banks, and Bowlan have seats in the bullpen.
That leaves two spots for a pool of candidates, including Rule 5 pick Zach McCambley and out-of-options righty Zach Pop. Veteran lefty Tim Mayza and righty Lou Trivino are also in camp as nonroster invitees.
But Backhus might have the early inside track.
“Backhus is a completely different look for people,“ Thomson said. ”You want good stuff, you want strikes, but when you have different looks like that, it makes it a lot better.”
Johan Rojas could make the Phillies’ roster as a reserve outfielder.
Who gets the last bench spot?
All the health-related caveats apply, but the opening-day lineup appears set: J.T. Realmuto (catcher), Harper (first base), Bryson Stott (second base), Turner (shortstop), Alec Bohm (third base), Brandon Marsh (left field), rookie Justin Crawford (center field), Adolis García (right field), and Kyle Schwarber (designated hitter).
Edmundo Sosa and Otto Kemp are expected to claim seats on the bench, with another going to incumbent backup catcher Rafael Marchán or veteran Garrett Stubbs.
Johan Rojas would provide speed on the bases and elite outfield defense, although the latter is less important without Nick Castellanos in right field. Marsh, Crawford, and García are all solid defenders. Also, Rojas has minor-league options and might benefit from everyday at-bats in triple A.
Veteran outfielder Bryan De La Cruz has 58 career major league homers, seven of which came against the Phillies. De La Cruz and Pedro Leon are intriguing right-handed bats, but Sosa and Kemp bat from the right side. And as outfielders, De La Cruz and Leon lack positional versatility.
And then there’s Moore, who has played everywhere except catcher and won a Gold Glove as a utility man for the Mariners in 2023. He said he signed with the Phillies to work with hitting coach Kevin Long. But he also recognized an opportunity.
Phillies manager Rob Thomson (left), with Charlie Manuel during batting practice on Thursday, has one spot to fill for a bench player.
“In past experience, having two utility guys — one who’s more depth to infield and one who’s more depth to outfield — is huge,“ Moore said. ”A guy that can do both is great. Sosa plays an awesome infield everywhere you put him, so maybe I could be more of the outfield guy.
“This has been my career in a nutshell — play some, play not so much, and just stay ready. I feel like I’ve gotten pretty good at it, and I still have more in me.”
With Harper, Schwarber, Sosa, and Rojas away at the WBC next month, there will be ample opportunity for Moore to prove it.
CLEARWATER, Fla. — J.T. Realmuto is in spring training with the Phillies for the eighth consecutive year.
But for a week in January, he wasn’t sure he’d be back.
Realmuto sat down last week with Phillies Extra, The Inquirer’s baseball podcast, to talk about his start-and-stop contract talks, which included a call in which president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski told the star catcher’s agent that the team was heading in a different direction.
In addition, Realmuto discussed the Phillies’ decision to release Nick Castellanos, offered his outlook for the starting rotation in 2026, and more.
Watch the full interview below and subscribe to the Phillies Extra podcaston Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
Q: Take me back to that week in January and how seriously you began thinking that you might be somewhere else this year.
A: It was definitely a pretty hectic maybe 48 hours for us. Obviously there were the rumblings about the [Bo] Bichette stuff going on, and then, we were kind of at a standstill with the Phillies for quite a while. It had been all the way dating back to December at that point where there was no momentum. We had many conversations. There was just no momentum on the deal moving anywhere. So, yeah, I got a little stressful there for a couple days where we weren’t sure what was going to happen. Started kind of thinking about our other options and putting the logistics together of what it might be like to go somewhere else. And thankfully it didn’t come to that, because as we’ve stated all along, this is where we wanted to be. So, we’re happy we didn’t have to up and move and go somewhere else.
Q: How much confidence do you have in this starting rotation, and how do you feel about how that group shapes up again going into 2026?
A: I love it. I don’t think there’s any secret that this starting pitching is one of the main strengths of our team. And it’s going to be what gets us to where we want to go. Similar to last year, we were so good in the regular season because of our starting pitching, and they’re going to be the horses we ride again all year long.
It’s obviously not ideal. Losing Ranger [Suárez to the Red Sox] is going to be tough. But also [Zack] Wheeler starting on the IL most likely, it’s tough to replace those type of innings. But we have the depth, and we have the guys back there to do it. You got [Andrew] Painter coming back after being healthy for a full season, coming off that injury. I think he’s going to be big for us this year. [Jesús] Luzardo, [Cristopher] Sánchez, [Aaron] Nola, those guys, Taijuan [Walker] is throwing the ball great for us. So we just have to lean on those guys. And the Phillies are going to go how those guys go. And it’s a really good group to ride with.
Q: There are people back in Philly who are saying the Phillies are running it back, and it’s been the same core for the last four or five years. How do you avoid it becoming kind of a stale feeling in the clubhouse?
A: I understand the narrative that comes from the fans, the media, just the fact that it’s largely the same team. But as far as staleness goes, inside the clubhouse, we don’t feel any. We’re still as hungry as we’ve ever been, because we haven’t been able to finish the job. Obviously, we’ve been a very good regular season team the last few years, had a couple pretty good postseason runs, but we just haven’t been able to get over that hump and win the World Series. We’re still very hungry for that. So, there’s definitely no sense of staleness in the clubhouse. We still really enjoy each other. We love to hang out. We get along together well.
So, the recipe is there. We have the pieces to win a championship. We all know that. I think the fans and the media know that as well. It’s just a matter of putting it together and playing our best baseball at the right time. Last year … I know we lost [in the NLDS to the Dodgers], 3-1, but the series was very close. Every game was very close, one play here and there changes that whole series, so we didn’t feel overmatched. If we play our best brand of baseball, we feel like we can beat anybody. And obviously the Dodgers are the team to chase down right now because they won two in a row, and they even got better this offseason. So, I feel like we have as good a chance as anybody to take them down. They’re going to be the favorites. But in my opinion, the Phillies are right up there with them, and we have as good a chance as anybody to beat them.
J.T. Realmuto said Nick Castellanos (right) “was always a great teammate to me.”
Q: How difficult was last year for Nick Castellanos, and what were you guys trying to do to make sure that you could try to keep Nick in the right frame of mind?
A: Yeah, I’m sure it was tough on him, just coming from the career he’s had, and just being an everyday player, getting everyday at-bats his whole career, being able to have the transition into that role of playing less. That can’t be easy for anybody. And everybody knows Nick. Sometimes he’s going to say what’s on his mind, and that rubs some people wrong, and others love him for it. So, that’s just who he is, and he’s always going to be that way.
So, I’m sure it’s not easy going through what he went through. But to be honest, now that he’s going to be moving on [to the Padres] and hopefully get another good opportunity for himself, I think he would say the same — that it’s best for both parties, just based off of everything that went on last year. And we obviously wish him the best. Our clubhouse loves Nick. I know that some people have feelings about him, but Nick was always a great teammate to me. I love that guy, and I wish him the best moving forward.
Q: What does it do for a team when you can inject some youth like Justin Crawford, Andrew Painter and Aidan Miller into a roster?
A: It’s awesome. I think it’s just a spark for our team, especially our team where everybody talks about how old we are. So, it’s nice that [we’re] finally getting some young pups in the mix. What was our last youth wave — [Bryson] Stott, [Alec] Bohm, those guys. Bringing those guys up and being able to kind of take them under our wings and show them how to be big leaguers, that stuff is fun for us, for the older guys, and really being able to teach them how to win and show them what matters in this game. Our minor league system does a good job of having guys prepared when they come up, how to act like professionals, and how to play winning baseball. So, it’s always fun for us to get them in the clubhouse and make them feel like part of the team.
CLEARWATER, Fla. — The fastest man in the National League in 2015 still wears the crown, which seems impossible until Trea Turner shares his secret.
“I pay attention to a lot of little things,” the Phillies‘ star shortstop said Wednesday, “that maybe other guys don’t.”
OK, such as?
“Things that happen to all of us all the time,” Turner said. “I walk down my stairs and I’m like, ‘Oh, my knee’s kind of feeling weird today,’ or I wake up and sleep wrong. Then, I’ll get to the field and ask questions in the training room.
“Sometimes it might be annoying, where I just keep asking questions. But when something bothers me, I try to find out why so that, if it does happen again, I get rid of it real quick.
“Like I said, I pay attention more than probably other guys.”
And that, Turner said, explains how he hasn’t lost a step 10 years into his major league career. If anything, he may be a tick faster. As a 23-year-old rookie with the Nationals in 2016, he averaged 30 feet per second, according to Statcast. Last season, at age 32, he averaged 30.3.
Turner also led the majors last year with 117 bolts, defined by Statcast as any run above 30 feet per second. The only other player with more than 100 bolts: Royals 25-year-old star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr.
It’s as uncommon as it sounds. Of the 28 fastest players in baseball last season based on sprint speed, only three — Turner, Twins center fielder Byron Buxton, and Braves utility man Eli White — were in their 30s.
“I still feel young,” said Turner, who will turn 33 on June 30. “I don’t feel as old as I am, which, I don’t think I’m old. But I don’t feel as old as I am. Hopefully I can continue that for a while.”
As always, it will hinge on health. Turner did miss time in each of the last two seasons with hamstring strains. Ever curious, he sought the root of each injury. He believes last year’s injury, a mild strain of his right hamstring while running to first base Sept. 7 in Miami, was caused by dehydration.
Through the years, Turner has changed his nutritional habits. He cut out soda several years ago. He eats more carefully now, taking cues from Bryce Harper, Aaron Nola, and other teammates.
“Genetics, I’d say, is a big part of it,” said Brett Austin, Turner’s college teammate and close friend. “But I think his offseason program really allows him to optimize and maintain his speed.”
Indeed, the biggest reason Turner has remained in the fast lane is a training routine that he has followed since he was a teenager.
In high school, he met Ed Smith, a physical therapist and strength coach who worked with major leaguers at a facility in Wellington, Fla., near Turner’s hometown. Back then, Turner was 5-foot-4 and bony. He was taller but still skinny when he arrived on campus at North Carolina State, where coach Elliot Avent nicknamed him “Seabiscuit” after the famously undersized champion racehorse.
A training routine he has followed since he was a teenager has allowed Trea Turner to remain one of the game’s fastest players at age 32.
As a freshman, Turner led the nation with 57 stolen bases. But when he went home after the season, he asked Smith to help improve his running form.
“He hated the weight room. Hated it,” Austin said. “I’d go, ‘Dude, you need to get big. You need to get strong.’ He was like, ‘I don’t want to lose my speed.’ And he would go see Ed and do his explosion drills, his speed and agility, his laterals.
“They still work together every offseason. If I had to guess, that’s just allowed him to have the longevity and maintain his speed.”
Turner works out with Smith multiple times per week in the winter. During the season, he speaks by phone with Smith at least monthly and texts him more often with questions. He takes feedback from Smith and shares it with the Phillies’ staff, notably athletic trainer Paul Buchheit and strength coaches Morgan Gregory and Furey Leva.
Because as much pride as Turner takes in still being faster than most players, he focuses more on maintaining that speed. Since making his major-league debut, his average sprint speed has ranged from 30.6 feet per second in 2015 and 2021 to 29.6 in 2024. Only once has he not finished among the six fastest players in baseball.
“Some guys are fast for a year or two years, and then an injury pops up and they might not be the same again,” Turner said. “I don’t want that to happen. I’ve tried to become a complete player, so if I ever lose my speed, I want to be able to contribute. But it also would change who I am.
“If I lose a step, I lose a step. That’s OK. But if I’m running at 29 feet per second instead of 30, I can still impact the game. That’s still moving. But you’ve got to run correctly to do that.”
Shortstop Trea Turner, who will be 33 in June, enters his fourth season with the Phillies.
Turner will be challenged to remain in the pole position for the Phillies. Rookie center fielder Justin Crawford, 22, is a burner, with a top recorded speed of 31.1 feet per second in triple A last season. Johan Rojas, a candidate to make the team as a reserve outfielder, averaged 30.1 feet per second over the last two seasons.
But the fastest man in the league in 2015 was still at the top of the leader board in 2025, with no sign of slowing down.
“I’ve seen the numbers, and I’m proud of them,” Turner said. “Because when you look at those charts, you don’t see many 30-year-olds. And even if you do, it’s really low volume. I think it’s pretty cool. I take pride in it, and I think it’s cool for the people around me that help me do it. It’s something they should be proud of, too.”
CLEARWATER, Fla. — Six years into his major-league career, Alec Bohm knows exactly who he is as a player.
Also, who he’s not.
“In the grand scheme of things,” Bohm said here Tuesday, “you think about it, I’m prototypically not your average cleanup hitter. Body type-wise, yeah. But the way my game is, I guess, is not that of a typical [No.] 4 hitter.”
Bohm has thought about it. A lot. Because he does look the part — 6-foot-5, with shoulders that block the sun and never-ending arms and legs. But he hasn’t hit more than 20 homers or slugged .450 in a full season.
And yet, guess the Phillies‘ most frequent cleanup hitter over the last two seasons — and the leading candidate to reprise the role on opening day of Bohm’s last year before free agency.
Rob Thomson hasn’t settled on the order but wants Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, and Bryce Harper to bat in the first inning. And whether Schwarber and Harper bat second and third, or vice versa, the cleanup hitter will be tasked with protecting one of the Phillies’ feared lefty sluggers.
Thomson has mentioned new right fielder Adolis García and J.T. Realmuto as options. But he noted that Bohm “would have taken down most of the at-bats” in the cleanup spot if not for two stints on the injured list. He was the cleanup hitter 102 times — and an All-Star — in 2024.
Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm hasn’t hit more than 20 homers or slugged .450 in a full season of his career.
Get ready, then, for one more round of the familiar gripe about the Phillies’ atypical cleanup hitter, notably that someone as big and strong as Bohm doesn’t hit more balls over the fence.
“Anybody that says that has no [bleeping] clue how hard this game is and how good the pitching is at this point,” Bohm said. “Would you rather me swing at stuff that’s bouncing in front of the plate and strike out 180 times and get you 25 to 30 home runs so you feel better about it? Or do you want me to hit .280 and drive in 80 to 90 to 100 runs and hit 40 doubles and do it that way?
“To me, that’s more productive than me walking up there and striking out 190 times. That’s not my game.”
Bohm concedes that his game was “down last year.” He opened the season in a 9-for-60 tailspin with one extra-base hit through 14 games. He missed 27 games after the All-Star break with a cracked left rib and 11 in September with a cyst in his left shoulder that needed to be drained.
And after back-to-back 97-RBI seasons in which he was 11% more productive than league average based on OPS-plus, he backslid to 18 doubles, 11 homers, and a .741 OPS, 2% more productive than league average.
The Phillies shuttled Nick Castellanos, Realmuto, and Bohm through the cleanup spot, behind Harper. Phillies cleanup hitters combined for a .720 OPS, 20th in the majors. And Harper saw the lowest rate of pitches in the strike zone (43%) of anyone who qualified for the batting title.
Coincidence? Somewhat. Harper saw 42.6% of pitches in the zone through his first six Phillies seasons (2019-24). He has long contended that teams take extreme care in how they pitch to him no matter who bats behind him.
“There’s a lot of situations throughout the game, especially later in the game, where they’re obviously not going to let the franchise player beat them,” Bohm said. “You’ve got a righty on the mound, who in their right mind would let Bryce beat them?”
When Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm was an All-Star in 2024, he batted in the cleanup spot 102 times.
Maybe it would make the decision to pitch around Harper more difficult if Schwarber batted behind him, so Thomson is mulling that arrangement.
“But if Schwarbs is sitting there [in the No. 3 spot], the same thing’s going to kind of happen, right?” Harper said. “So, whoever’s in that four spot is going to have a big job to do.”
Bohm believes he’s up for it, even if his homer total doesn’t rise far above his 14.8 average over the last four years.
“For me, it’s not necessarily putting up a certain number of home runs,” Bohm said. “It’s just, am I executing with runners in scoring position? Am I driving in runs? Am I putting tough at-bats up there?
“The protection [of Harper or Schwarber] aspect of it, the way I want to go about it just being a good situational baseball player. The home runs, the damage, the doubles, all that stuff is going to come. But it’s not going to come as frequently if I’m up there trying to force it.”
Bohm’s best work over the years has come with runners in scoring position, largely because he makes more consistent contact than most hitters in the Phillies’ lineup. Even last year, his strikeout rate (16.3%) was well below major-league average (22.2%).
It’s one of the attributes cited by Thomson as a reason to like Bohm in the cleanup spot.
“If there’s runners out there, he’s going to put the ball in play,” Thomson said. “Typically, he hits a lot of doubles. And I love doubles. I love home runs, but I love doubles as well because that clears the bases.”
Phillies right fielder Adolis Garcia (left) is another candidate to bat in the cleanup spot.
And Bohm has millions of reasons to capitalize on another opportunity to fill the cleanup role. He’s eligible for free agency after the season, which he said feels “really far off in the distance.”
Bohm’s successor may be only a few lockers away in the spring-training clubhouse. Top prospect Aidan Miller will play third base at times this year. And the Phillies discussed moving on from Bohm in each of the last two offseasons. They nearly signed free-agent infielder Bo Bichette last month, a move that would’ve corresponded with trading Bohm.
But for as long as he’s here, Bohm believes he can handle batting behind Harper or Schwarber.
“I can do things in a different way to create runs and not let the other team go, ‘We got through Kyle, now just walk Bryce, and we should be home free,’” Bohm said. “What I do is put the ball in play to where I’m not a hole behind a very important piece of our lineup.”
CLEARWATER, Fla. — Brandon Marsh stood in the outfield of the main stadium here the other day alongside a half-dozen teammates when it dawned on him.
“I was the oldest guy out there,” he said, a toothy smile forming above his lumberjack beard, “and I was like, ‘What the heck?’ I’ve never, ever in my life been in this position.”
Don’t tell Marsh, then, that these are the Same Old Phillies.
Other changes: A 22-year-old rookie (Justin Crawford) in center field, and a righty-hitting utility man (Otto Kemp) who might see most of his playing time in left field whenever the Phillies face left-handed pitching.
And — voila! — Marsh is the new dean of an outfield that critics believe will be among the worst in the majors.
Brandon Marsh didn’t have a hit in April but batted .303 over the final five months of the season.
“It’s going to be almost a complete different outfield, I know that,” said Marsh, limited in the Phillies’ first full-squad workout Monday because of a cut on his foot that Thomson didn’t consider serious. “But we have some incredible guys here that are going to step up. As humans, we always want to challenge ourselves. It’s going to be a fun challenge for us, and nothing that we’re not capable of doing.”
Maybe. Crawford did bat .300 at every level of the minors despite hitting a high rate of balls on the ground. García, a two-time All-Star, is three years removed from 39 homers and a dominant postseason for the World Series-champion Texas Rangers. Kemp impressed team officials with his grit last season while playing through shoulder and knee injuries.
But any improvement over last season, when the Phillies ranked 19th in the majors in outfield OPS (.710) and 21st in wins above replacement (3.2, measured by Fangraphs) must involve Marsh.
It has been nearly four years since the Phillies traded for Marsh. With Bryson Stott and Alec Bohm, he comprised a group of young, often goofy players dubbed by teammates as the “Daycare” along the way to the 2022 World Series. He has been a supporting cast member ever since.
Marsh is 28 now. He has two seasons before free agency. And still, there are questions about his ceiling as a player.
Take last season, for instance. Marsh was 4-for-42 — and hitless in April (0-for-29) — when he strained his right hamstring. The injury was mild. Physically, he was ready to return after the minimum 10-day term on the injured list. Mentally, he was a wreck.
“Honestly, I’ve never been on a baseball field and felt that low before,” Marsh said. “Not low as in depression or anything, but just like self-belief and just realizing like, ‘Dang, am I really cut out for this?’
“But I think the second half of last year really proved — not to anyone else but just to myself — that I can get through the thick of it. You know?”
Indeed, upon returning May 3, Marsh batted .303 with 25 doubles, 10 homers, and a .358 on-base percentage for the rest of the season. Among 96 National League players with at least 350 plate appearances after May 1, Marsh ranked 17th with an .836 OPS.
Brandon Marsh’s .836 OPS from May 3 through the rest of the season ranked 17th in the National League among players with at least 350 plate appearances.
Never mind, then, that Marsh continued to struggle to hit left-handed pitching. The Phillies would sign up for his post-April production from last season and install him as the strong (lefty-hitting) half of a left-field platoon.
But can they count on Marsh being that player?
“I’ve got to go off what the last five months looked like,” Thomson said. “All our analytics and what we see with our eyes has told us that that’s who he is. Now, maybe he’s becoming that. Hopefully he has a full year of that type of performance.”
If anything, the depths of Marsh’s struggle were surprising because of when it occurred.
Given the length of the season, with a game almost every day for six months, most players, especially veterans, downplay April slumps. It’s early, they insist, while falling back on clichés about the numbers on the back of their baseball card.
But Marsh — Bohm, too, his roommate and close friend who started in a 9-for-60 tailspin — was drowning.
“You play in Philadelphia and you’re hitting .090,” Marsh said. “… And I deserved every bit of boos I got and every bit of bashing that I got, and I just had to wear it the best I could. Some days were harder than others, for sure.
“I remember saying that to someone, like, ‘It’s April.’ But it’s easy to get overwhelmed, and there were days where I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this mountain might be too steep to climb.’ I might be too low, fighting for keeping a job and stuff like that. There was a whole bunch of stuff going on.
“Me and Bohmer, I remember us just driving home and we were like, ‘Bro, it can’t get any worse.’”
The Phillies signed Adolis García this offseason to replace Nick Castellanos in right field.
It helped that the Phillies gave Marsh a few extra days on his injury rehab assignment at triple-A Lehigh Valley. He credited catcher Garrett Stubbs for changing his perspective.
“Show up and smile,” Stubbs said.
“When Brandon Marsh was with us, we had some epic wins, a couple walk-off home runs, and he was just as happy as anybody on our team,” triple-A hitting coach Adam Lind said. “Maybe that’s just what it was. Sometimes a rehab assignment can just reignite that joy in the game. You can take a deep breath.”
In any case, Marsh salvaged his season. He batted .280 overall, “but it felt like I hit .800.” And the Phillies chose to remake their outfield around him.
Garcia represents “a very big bounce-back candidate,” as Bryce Harper put it.
“I think he’s going to have a lot more fun hitting in Philly than he did in a big Texas stadium,” Harper said. “But also, you’re not really sure until it happens.”
Ditto for Crawford, whom the Phillies expect to bring speed and energy to the bottom of the lineup. But he also would be the youngest player in a Phillies’ opening-day lineup since Freddy Galvis in 2012.
So, Marsh looked around the outfield the other day as the constant at the one spot on the Phillies’ roster that has undergone massive change. Last April, he never would’ve guessed it.
“I’m glad that bad stretch happened because it showed just to myself what I could crawl out of,” Marsh said. “I have that self-confidence now of feeling like you’re a dude, like you’re supposed to be here. That’s kind of where I’m at.”
Scenes from the Phillies first full spring training workout
// Timestamp 02/16/26 2:02pm
‘He’s getting there’: Zach Wheeler continues recovery from blood clot
Zack Wheeler threw out to 120 feet for the first time today. Rob Thomson said he doesn't know yet when Wheeler will get back on a mound, but "he's getting there."
The surprising things Phillies players brought with them to spring training
// Timestamp 02/16/26 12:17pm
Spring training photos: Phillies first full-squad workout
BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater, Fla. ahead of the Phillies’ first full-squad workout. Bryce Harper works with new bench coach Don Mattingly. Kyle Schwarber takes some swings during batting practice. The Phillies’ first spring training game is Saturday against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Top pitching prospect Andrew Painter will be under no limitations this spring as he competes for a spot in the Phillies’ rotation. He is set to appear in Grapefruit League games for the first time since prior to his ulnar collateral ligament injury and subsequent Tommy John elbow surgery in 2023.
“I’m sure he’s excited. It’s really the first full year where he’s completely healthy, and where he’s got everything back,” Thomson said. “And when I’m talking about everything, I’m talking about stuff, combined with command and control. So I think he’s really excited. I would think so. I’m excited for him, because I’m thinking he’s really going to be a big piece for us.”
Mike Trout talks position change, being prevented from playing in World Baseball Classic
Mike Trout wants to move back to center field this season.
Los Angeles Angels star Mike Trout plans to be back in center field this season, he told reporters Monday at the team’s spring training complex in Tempe, Ariz.
Trout moved to right field last season in an attempt to keep the 34-year-old South Jersey native healthy, but in April he was sidelined for a month by a bone bruise and finished out the year as a designated hitter.
Mike Trout says he is playing center field again. He said playing right wasn’t comfortable and he felt like it was more running.
Also said he feels good about where his swing is. He finished last season on a hot streak.
Trout played 130 games last season, the most since 2019. But Angles general manager Perry Minasian signaled back in December he’d be open to Trout returning to center field.
“I’m not ruling anything out,” Minasian said, according to MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger. “We’ll see where the team looks like when we get to Spring Training and what’s in place and what gives us the best chance to win games. Might be playing center. One day might be playing left. One day might be DHing. I don’t know.”
Trout also told reporters he wanted to play in this year’s World Baseball Classic, but was prevented due to insurance issues related to his 12-year, $426.5 million contract with the Angels that runs through the 2030 season.
Essentially, Trout couldn’t find insurance coverage to cover the roughly $37 million he’s owed this season if he were to be injured during the global baseball tournament.
Mike Trout says he’ll move back to playing CF this year. He also wanted to play in the WBC but insurance prevented him from playing, calling it disappointing
They also sent lefty Matt Strahm to the Royals for Jonathan Bowlan in a reliever swap. And they added bullpen depth with Zach McCambley (Rule 5 draft), lefty Kyle Backhus (trade with Arizona), Yoniel Curet (trade with Tampa Bay), Chase Shugart (trade with Pittsburgh), and Zach Pop (free agent).
So which new Phillies is most intriguing for 2026?
Lauber: Does Justin Crawford count as “new?” Oh, OK, we’ll get to him later. In that case, García. In 2023, he hit 39 homers, got down-ballot MVP votes, and dominated the postseason for the World Series champion Rangers. The Phillies bet on bouncebacks last year from Max Kepler and Jordan Romano and went bust. Will their latest free-agent gamble work out better?
March: Keller. The right-hander had been a starter for most of his career before his breakout season last year as a high-leverage reliever for the Cubs, and he has retained his starter’s arsenal of four-seam, sinker, slider, changeup, and sweeper. That, plus a jump of over 3 mph on his fastball in 2025, makes him an intriguing back-end option in the Phillies’ bullpen.
Which Phillies players to watch at spring training
All eyes will be on prospect Justin Crawford during spring training.
What’s the Phillies’ biggest roster decision?
Lauber: Although the decision to commit to Justin Crawford was made early in the offseason, it’s about to play out in real time. At 22, he would be the youngest outfielder to make a Phillies opening-day roster since Greg Luzinski and Mike Anderson in 1973. As the Phillies turn over the keys to center field, Crawford will be at the center of attention.
March: The Phillies stocked up on potential bullpen depth this winter, making a host of minor league deals, a few trades, and a Rule 5 selection of Zach McCambley. Six reliever spots are likely spoken for, barring injury: lefties José Alvarado and Tanner Banks, and righties Jhoan Duran, Brad Keller, Orion Kerkering, and Jonathan Bowlan. There will be some stiff competition for the final two spots.
Which prospect should fans look out for?
Lauber: As you watch Crawford and Andrew Painter, don’t take your eyes off Aidan Miller. The Phillies intend to expose the 22-year-old shortstop to third base in spring training, but it will be interesting to see how much third he actually plays — and how fast they push him if he starts hot in triple A and/or Alec Bohm falters again in April.
March: Gabriel Rincones Jr. made a big impression last spring with a couple of towering home runs. The outfielder was added to the Phillies’ 40-man roster ahead of the Rule 5 draft, and he could get a major league look at some point in 2026. Rincones, who will be 25 next month, struggles against left-handed pitching, so any opportunity would likely be in a strict platoon. But he has some big power potential against righties.
A clean-shaven Nick Castellanos, dressed in a brown Padres hoodie, made his first public comments Sunday after signing a one-year deal with San Diego.
The former Phillies outfielder, who was released by the organization on Thursday, met with the media at the Padres’ spring training complex in Peoria, Ariz. He also spent time taking reps at first base. He is expected to see time there as the Padres already have an All-Star rightfielder in Fernando Tatis Jr.
Castellanos told reporters Sunday he “had a good idea” he would not be back with the Phillies following their exit in the National League Division Series. This winter, the Phillies repeatedly expressed interest in finding a change of scenery for Castellanos after he developed friction with manager Rob Thomson.
After his release, Castellanos posted a letter on Instagram thanking members of the organization and explaining the “Miami Incident.” During the eighth inning of a June 16 game in Miami, Castellanos said he brought a beer into the dugout after Thomson replaced him for defensive purposes. He was benched for the following game as punishment.
In his letter, Castellanos wrote that he “will learn from” the incident.
“I think [what] I said I will learn from this is I guess just letting my emotions get the best of me in a moment,” he said Sunday. “Possibly if I see things that frustrate me or I don’t believe are conducive to winning, to speak up instead of letting things just pile up over time and pile up over time and finally when I address it, it’s less emotional.”
Bryce Harper responds to Phillies exec ahead of Spring Training
Bryce Harper fist-bumps Phillies teammates Sunday ahead of the team’s workout in Clearwater, Fla.
Bryce Harper touched down in Phillies camp, pulled on a black T-shirt — no, not the black T-shirt that went viral over the holidays — and summarized one of the weirdest weeks in an offseason of his career.
“For Dave [Dombrowski] to come out and say those things,“ Harper said, ”it’s kind of wild to me still.”
Key word: Still. Because this was Sunday, 122 days after the Phillies’ highest-ranking baseball official gave a 90-second answer 34 minutes into a 54-minute news conference about whether Harper’s good-but-not-great 2025 season was a one-off or the start of a downward trend.
Pardon the rehashed sound bite, but well, here goes: “Of course he’s still a quality player,” Dombrowski said, “still an All-Star-caliber player. He didn’t have an elite season like he has had in the past. And I guess we only find out if he becomes elite [again], or if he continues to be good.”
Cue the hysteria, fomented by sports-talk radio and social media. And a candid answer to a good question exploded into unfounded speculation that the Phillies would consider trading Harper. (For what it’s worth, John Middleton is clear about wanting Harper to go into the Hall of Fame with a “P” on his plaque.)
Harper is self-aware. He wasn’t satisfied with last season. There were factors, including an inflamed right wrist that caused him to miss 22 games. But he also swung at a career-high rate of pitches out of the zone, a problem given that Harper saw fewer strikes than any hitter in baseball. He also delivered fewer hits in the clutch than ever before.
“Obviously,” he said after digesting it for four months, “not the best year of my career.”
But the substance of Dombrowski’s comments didn’t bother Harper as much as the forum.
“The big thing for me was, when we first met with this organization [in 2019] it was, ‘Hey, we’re always going to keep things in-house, and we expect you to do the same thing,’” Harper said. “So, when that didn’t happen, it kind of took me for a run a little bit. I don’t know.
“It’s kind of a wild situation, that even happening.”
Pitcher Taijuan Walker looks on while wearing his hat backward Sunday. Pitcher Cristopher Sanchez on the mound as palm trees swerve in the background. Brandon Marsh shares a laugh during spring training workouts Thursday. Pitcher Zack Wheeler warms up last week. Phillies manager Rob Thomson looks on during spring training workouts.
Tom McCarthy is entering his 19th season as the TV voice of the Phillies.
NBC Sports Philadelphia will once again broadcast 12 Phillies spring training games in 2026 — 10 on the main channel and two on NBC Sports Philadelphia+.
The network’s TV schedule kicks off Sunday with the Phillies’ afternoon matchup against the Pittsburgh Pirates at BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater, Fla., where the team has played spring ball for 78 years.
The Phillies March 4 exhibition game against Canada ahead of the World Basball classic will also air on NBC Sports Philadelphia.
In addition, a handful of spring training games will stream live on the Phillies’ website.
Here are all the Phillies spring training games airing on NBC Sports Philadelphia:
Sunday vs. Pittsburgh Pirates, 1:05 p.m. (NBCSP)
Feb. 25 vs Detroit Tigers, 1:05 p.m. (NBCSP)
Feb. 27 vs. Florida Marlins (split squad), 1:05 p.m. (NBCSP)
March 1 vs. New York Yankees, 1:05 p.m. (NBCSP)
March 4 vs. Canada, 1:05 p.m. (NBCSP)
March 5 vs. Boston Red Sox, 1:05 p.m. (NBCSP+)
March 8 at Minnesota Twins, 1:05 p.m. (NBCSP)
March 10 vs. New York Yankees, 1:05 p.m. (NBCSP)
March 13 vs. Baltimore Orioles, 1:05 p.m. (NBCSP+)
J.T. Realmuto just started his eighth spring training with the Phillies. But for a week in January, he wasn’t sure he’d be back. Realmuto sits down with Phillies Extra, The Inquirer’s baseball podcast, to discuss his roller-coaster offseason contract talks, the release of Nick Castellanos, his outlook for the 2026 starting rotation, and more. Watch here:
