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.”
Bryce Harper missed 22 games for the Phillies last season because of an inflamed right wrist.
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.”
Dombrowski reached out to Harper about 10 days later. The whole affair seemed to be over. Then, in December, a video posted to Harper’s TikTok account showing him working out while wearing a T-shirt with two words across the chest: “NOT ELITE.”
Is Harper using Dombrowski’s critique as motivation?
“I don’t need to be motivated to be great in my career or anything else,“ Harper said. ”That’s just not a motivating factor for me.”
So, why the T-shirt?
“They made the shirts for me and I wore them,” he said. “If they’re going to make them, I’m going to wear them.”
OK then. Just don’t be surprised if Harper channels all of this into an MVP-worthy season. Because elite athletes have a way of turning more innocuous slights into fuel. Michael Jordan was notorious for it. Tom Brady, too.
Bryce Harper says it was kind of “wild” the way Phillies President Dave Dombrowski made his comments about Bryce’s season and that it was not elite.
Bryce says he is always available to anyone with the team and he had an understanding that everything would be kept “in house”… pic.twitter.com/MdzkjVII0l
“I just know his mindset is he wants to perform,“ manager Rob Thomson said. “He loves playing the game. He wants to perform for himself, for his teammates, for the organization, for the city of Philadelphia. With the way he’s come into camp, the shape that he’s in, we’ve got to keep him healthy and I think he’s going to have a huge year.”
Harper does appear to have bulked up since last season. Other than hiring a new trainer, he said he didn’t change much about his offseason program at home in Nashville.
The wrist, which hitting coach Kevin Long said bothered Harper before he went on the injured list last season, is fully healed. Harper said he hasn’t felt pain since June.
“Really happy about that,” he said. “My offseason was pretty similar to what I do each offseason. Just trying to make sure my body is where it needs to be. Just pretty much all the same stuff, getting in and making sure I’m ready to go.”
Maybe the stakes of the WBC will be invigorating for Harper, never a fan of the tedium of spring training.
“I feel like I’m pretty excited to play,” Harper said. “My face might not look it a lot of times. But I’m excited to be out there. I love being part of the culture and the group and Philly baseball. I don’t want that to ever not be the notion. I don’t smile all the time or I don’t laugh all the time, but I enjoy playing this game.”
With baseball returning to the Olympics in 2028 in Los Angeles, MLB is considering allowing players to compete, a scenario for which Harper has long lobbied.
In that case, the WBC would be a precursor. And Team USA is loaded. For years, many of the sport’s top starting pitchers resisted the WBC. But Tarik Skubal and Paul Skenes are at the top of the U.S. team’s rotation.
“Being able to take a step back and act like you are 16, 17, 18 years old again playing with your buddies,” Harper said, “really looking forward to it.
“And having Aaron Judge hitting behind me is going to be a lot of fun as well.”
Which brings up another question that looms over Harper this spring: How will the Phillies protect him in the lineup?
Thomson has considered putting Kyle Schwarber behind Harper. It was the other way around for most of last season. But then who will protect Schwarber? Alec Bohm and new right fielder Adolis García are the leading cleanup-hitter candidates.
“The four spot has a huge impact,” Harper said. “I think the numbers in the four spot weren’t very good last year for our whole team. Whoever’s in that four spot is going to have a big job to do.”
As far as his relationship with Dombrowski?
“We keep things in-house, that’s just how it’s always been, and in that moment, it just didn’t happen,” Harper said. “I think my locker is always open for them to come and talk to me, and vice versa. It is what it is right now.”
CLEARWATER, Fla. — Nick Castellanos has a new team.
Two days after the Phillies released him with one year left on his contract, Castellanos agreed Saturday to join the Padres, a major league source confirmed.
The Phillies will pay all but the major league minimum ($780,000) portion of his $20 million salary for 2026.
The Phillies were intent on moving on from Castellanos after he clashed last season with manager Rob Thomson. In response to a report that was about to be published by The Athletic, Castellanos detailed a June 16 incident in which he brought a beer into the dugout in the eighth inning of a game in Miami after Thomson replaced him for defense. Castellanos was benched for the next game.
Castellanos, who ranked among the worst defenders in the sport, also lost his everyday role in right field in August and publicly criticized Thomson in September for “questionable” communication.
“It was just a difficult situation,” Thomson said recently on Phillies Extra, The Inquirer’s baseball podcast. “The thing with Nick, the bottom line is, he wants to play every day. He wants to play every inning, every day, and you can’t fault him for that. I think I respect him a great deal, just for being that guy.”
Castellanos played literally every day for most of his time with the Phillies after signing a five-year, $100 million contract in 2022. He started 236 consecutive games, including all 162 in 2024. It was the longest streak by a Phillies player since Pete Rose started 350 consecutive games from 1980 to 1983.
A two-time All-Star with 250 career homers, Castellanos batted .260 with 82 homers and a .732 OPS for the Phillies. His OPS+ of 100 indicated league-average production relative to all major league hitters.
Castellanos reportedly will play first base for the first time in his career for the Padres, who also intend to use him as a designated hitter. He could see time in the outfield, although San Diego is well-stocked with Fernando Tatis Jr. and Ramón Laureano in right and left, respectively, with Jackson Merrill in center field.
The Phillies play the Padres on May 25-27 in San Diego and June 2-4 at Citizens Bank Park.
CLEARWATER, Fla. — One of the best catchers in baseball history intercepted Dave Dombrowski during a break in the general managers’ meetings in November.
Buster Posey had an itch to scratch.
Posey made roughly $170 million over a 12-year playing career in which he was a seven-time All-Star and three-time World Series champion. But he also observed that catchers, on the whole, weren’t as well-compensated as similar players at other positions, even though they are tasked with calling a game and handling a pitching staff.
So, Posey, now the San Francisco Giants’ president of baseball operations, approached his Phillies counterpart, who has led the front offices of five organizations over nearly four decades.
“He said, ‘Yeah, let me ask you a question: Why does the industry not put more dollar value on some of those things?’” Dombrowski recalled. “It’s hard, I think, the way it is. And we had a long conversation about it.”
Timely, too, as it turned out. Because the Phillies were in contract negotiations with free agent J.T. Realmuto, their catcher since 2019 and a foundational player in one of the winningest runs in the franchise’s 143-year history.
Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto shown during the first day of pitchers and catchers practice on Wednesday.
And it would soon be clear that there was at least a $4 million-per-year gulf between what the team and the veteran catcher’s camp believed he was worth.
The Phillies prioritized re-signing Realmuto this winter. They made an offer in December — but at a reduced annual salary (in the $10 million to $11 million range, major-league sources said) after three consecutive seasons of declining offense. Behind the plate, Realmuto, who turns 35 in March, remains unassailable as a game-caller and leader.
Realmuto felt those skills were worth a certain salary. The Phillies valued them differently.
“We had a number in our mind, and we knew what we were worth,” Realmuto said this week on Phillies Extra, The Inquirer’s baseball podcast. “And I wasn’t going to take anything less than that.”
It was a familiar stance. Realmuto and his agents, who also represented Posey as a player, have long sought to boost the pay scale for catchers.
In 2021, Realmuto re-signed with the Phillies for a $23.1 million annual salary, a record for catchers — by $100,000. Five years later, the mark still stands. And it’s less than the record for any position other than relief pitcher (Edwin Díaz: $23 million). It’s also less than the seven highest salaries for third basemen and the top nine for outfielders, according to Spotrac.
Realmuto went to an arbitration hearing against the Phillies in 2020 over a $2.4 million difference in salary proposals because he was trying to move the goal posts for catchers. He lost.
“I don’t believe teams — from a) their models and b) their valuations — take into account the nonanalytical special sauce of a catcher,” said Matt Ricatto, Realmuto’s agent at CAA, the same agency that represented Posey as a player. “I think it’s a blind spot for baseball.”
So, Realmuto fought that fight again this winter. It nearly ended with him and the Phillies going their separate ways.
There was some uncertainty this offseason that J.T. Realmuto would not return to the Phillies, but both sides reached a deal last month.
Catch 22
Most people know the story by now.
In January, as talks with Realmuto reached an impasse, the Phillies pivoted to free-agent infielder Bo Bichette, even agreeing to make his desired seven-year, $200 million offer, major league sources said. If the Mets hadn’t swooped in with a higher-salary ($42 million per year) three-year deal, Bichette would be with the Phillies and Realmuto … well, with whom exactly?
“It got a little stressful there for a couple of days,” Realmuto said. “We 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. We’re happy we didn’t have to up and move and go somewhere else.”
Indeed, Realmuto lives on Clearwater Beach. His wife and four children are with him throughout spring training. They’re comfortable in Philadelphia. Nobody wanted to leave.
But Realmuto felt it was important to continue his crusade for catcher equity. He held firm on not accepting the Phillies’ initial offers. On the night of Jan. 15, Dombrowski called Ricatto to inform him the Phillies were going in a different direction.
Roughly 12 hours later, once the pursuit of Bichette was foiled, the Phillies raised their offer to Realmuto: three years and $45 million, with as much as $7 million per year in bonuses based on merit (top-10 MVP votes, All-Star elections/selections, Gold Glove, Silver Slugger).
“If you ask any pitcher, any pitching coach, any manager, the most important thing a catcher can do is call a game and know his pitching staff and give them confidence when they’re on the mound,” Realmuto said. “If you can make your pitchers 5% better, 10% better, over the course of a year, that’s extremely, extremely valuable.”
Sure. But game-calling and handling a pitching staff are among the last largely unquantifiable skills in baseball’s analytics age.
“And because it’s not really quantifiable, then you don’t really get rewarded for it,” Realmuto said. “That’s the aspect that I just don’t agree with. It doesn’t sit well with me, so that’s kind of just why I enjoy fighting for it.”
J.T. Realmuto re-signed with the Phillies on a three-year, $45 million contract.
Measuring up
In modern baseball, there’s a metric for everything.
Almost everything.
Who’s the fastest runner? Statcast tracks feet-per-second sprint speeds. The best outfield jump? There’s data for that, too. A hitter’s average exit velocity, launch angle, and bat speed. A pitcher’s spin rate and vertical/horizontal movement.
The metrics for catchers include blocking, throwing, and framing, the technique of receiving a pitch in a way that influences the umpire to call a strike. “Pop time” measures how fast a catcher releases the ball on steal attempts. Realmuto annually has among the best pop times of all catchers. His framing isn’t typically as strong, in part because the Phillies don’t emphasize it as much as other teams.
But there isn’t a reliable gauge for calling a game. Phillies manager Rob Thomson, a former minor-league catcher, suggested catcher’s ERA and OPS as decent barometers.
In that case, opponents have a .682 OPS and Phillies pitchers have a 3.75 ERA with Realmuto behind the plate since 2023. The major-league averages during that time: .722 and 4.18.
A catcher’s ability to handle a pitching staff is almost entirely anecdotal.
Zack Wheeler swears by Realmuto. He barely ever pitches to anyone else (134 of Wheeler’s 157 starts for the Phillies have come with Realmuto behind the plate) and hardly ever shakes off a pitch that he calls.
Cristopher Sánchez, who emerged as the Cy Young runner-up in the National League last year, cited Realmuto’s diligence in putting together a game plan, a process that begins even before the starter arrives at the ballpark. And Jesús Luzardo describes Realmuto as “a no-B.S. guy” behind the plate.
“You show up to the field, he’s already there, doing homework, going over scouting reports, watching video,” Luzardo said. “So, when he goes up back there and he tells us, ‘This is the plan that we’re going to do throughout the game,’ you have confidence that he knows what he’s talking about and that it’s not [him] just winging it.”
In conversations with the Phillies and other teams this winter, Ricatto described Realmuto’s “cascading effect” on a team. Because although he’s not the best player on the roster, “he makes [teammates] better than anyone else at that [catcher] position,” Ricatto said.
Surely, that’s worth something.
But how much?
It’s a question that gets to the heart of Dombrowski’s chat with Posey.
“J.T. is outstanding, right?” Dombrowski said. “He handles the staff well. He does all those other things. But let’s say you had a catcher that, let’s say they hit .150. And they did all that [other stuff]. What would you pay that person? I don’t have that exact answer.
“But it’s one of those where it’s a combination of the value, the defensive performance, and all that — and the hitting aspect of our game. The game has rewarded offense [more than anything] throughout the years.”
Phillies ace Zack Wheeler (left) has said he almost never shakes off a pitch called by J.T. Realmuto.
‘I never felt like Plan B’
Realmuto is coming off his worst offensive season since his rookie year in Miami. But he wasn’t a .150 hitter, either. He batted .257 with 12 homers and a .700 OPS. Based on OPS-plus, he was 9% less productive than league average.
But even at Realmuto’s offensive peak, his agents believed he was paid less simply because he’s a catcher.
After the 2019 season, Realmuto filed for $12.4 million in arbitration because his numbers were comparable at the same point in his career to then-Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon, who made $12.3 million in 2018. But a three-person panel ruled in favor of the Phillies’ $10 million offer, still an arbitration record for catchers.
And although the judges didn’t provide an explanation, Jeff Berry, one of Realmuto’s agents at the time, believed it was because they compared Realmuto only to fellow catchers, notably Baltimore’s Matt Wieters, who made $8.3 million in his third year of arbitration in 2015.
Which doesn’t mean Realmuto gets paid squat. He has made approximately $135 million since 2016. When his new contract expires, he will have made at least $180 million.
It’s little wonder, then, that Realmuto said he doesn’t have any hard feelings toward the Phillies after they nearly broke up with him last month. He insisted he doesn’t feel like a consolation prize for not landing Bichette.
“To be honest, I never felt like Plan B because I could have signed with the Phillies a month and a half earlier,” he said. “They just valued me differently than I valued myself.”
So, Realmuto stood on principle, just like he always has.
CLEARWATER, Fla. — After getting replaced for defense late in a close game, the worst defensive outfielder in baseball since 2022 based on defensive runs saved brought a beer into the dugout and lectured his manager.
Brought a beer into the dugout.
Let those words wash over you. They belong, incidentally, to the player himself. The Phillies released Nick Castellanos on Thursday after trying to trade him for three months. And when the deed was finally done, the $100 million right fielder laid bare the June 16 incident in Miami that precipitated his unceremonious departure.
“I brought a Presedente [sic] into the dugout,” Castellanos said in a handwritten letter posted on Instagram. “I then sat right next to Rob [Thomson] and let him know that too much slack in some areas and to [sic] tight of restrictions in others are not condusive [sic] to us winning.”
There were other tension points. Castellanos, a two-time All-Star with 250 career homers and an everyday player in the majors for a decade, lost his job in August while producing at a less-than-league-average clip. In September, he accused Thomson of “questionable” communication.
As president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski put it in explaining why the Phillies-Castellanos relationship soured like a lemon with $20 million left on the final season of his five-year contract, “I don’t think it was necessarily one incident.”
Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski talks to the media on Thursday after releasing Nick Castellanos.
In truth, Castellanos was always a strange match for Philly.
His introductory news conference in March 2022 — after signing the contract that put the Phillies over the luxury tax for the first time in their history — revealed an edgy personality, a directness that didn’t always sit well with everyone even in the clubhouse, and a penchant for taking things personally.
“He’s a little different,” former teammate Whit Merrifield said recently on The Inquirer’s Phillies Extra podcast. “And he’ll tell you, he’s just a little different. He’s very, very blunt. He’ll tell you exactly how he feels.
“There are just some things that happened that Casty didn’t like along the way, and he’s not the guy to hide his feelings or sugarcoat it. And I think it just kind of came to a head.”
It didn’t help that Castellanos struggled on the field in 2022, his first year with the Phillies, posting the lowest full-season OPS of his career (.694) — until he matched it last year.
He often quibbled over his spot in the batting order, especially when Thomson dropped him to the seventh or eighth spot, insisting he felt more comfortable in the top half of a lineup. And when coaches worked with him at, say, reducing his rate of swings at pitches out of the zone, Castellanos often pushed back, noting that he’s “always been a free swinger.”
But Castellanos could also be supportive of teammates. He encouraged young outfielder Mickey Moniak to stay around the team after breaking his hand on the last day of spring training. And after Orion Kerkering made a series-ending error in the postseason last year, Castellanos raced in from right field to be at his side.
“He treated me and my family wonderfully,” left fielder Brandon Marsh said Thursday. “He’s always got my respect and I always got love for [No.] 8.”
Nick Castellanos bookended his four-year run as a Phillie with .694 OPS seasons.
It was all part of the enigma of Castellanos. Dombrowski knew all about it. He was running the Tigers’ baseball operations in 2010 when Detroit drafted Castellanos out of high school.
“He’s been a very good player, he’s had a nice career, and he probably will continue to do so,” Dombrowski said. “Things happened, things changed over a 15-year period, and I’ve still had a good relationship with Nick and his family members. You always wish things end up on a good point, but it doesn’t always happen.”
In his four-page letter, Castellanos thanked owner John Middleton, Dombrowski, staff members, outfield coach Paco Figueroa (who often coached Castellanos’ son, Liam, on the field before games), and “my teammates,” though none by name.
Notably omitted: Thomson and hitting coach Kevin Long.
But Castellanos didn’t spare the details of his confrontation with Thomson in what he termed the “Miami incident.” He gave a “shout out” to special assistant Howie Kendrick and teammates for “taking the beer out of my hands before I could take a sip,” as if actively drinking would’ve made the whole thing worse.
Castellanos noted that he met with Dombrowski and Thomson after the game.
“We aired our differences,” Castellanos wrote, “and the conversation ended with me apologizing for letting my emotions get the best of me.”
Thomson benched Castellanos the next day, ending a streak of 236 consecutive games started. Castellanos conceded that “there are rules and I broke one in Miami.” Dombrowski said the Phillies didn’t consider a harsher punishment, such as releasing Castellanos midway through last season.
Nick Castellanos played for manager Rob Thomson with the Phillies since 2022.
“That [incident] wasn’t the final or determining factor,” Dombrowski. “Because if it was, we would’ve done it at that particular time.”
Beyond that, Dombrowski wasn’t interested in discussing an incident that happened seven months ago. Besides, by the time the Phillies got knocked out of the postseason in the divisional round, it was clear to everyone that they were moving on from Castellanos, who said in September that he and Thomson didn’t talk much last season.
Dombrowski called Castellanos after the playoffs and said he thought a change of scenery was best. Castellanos didn’t disagree.
“I think that we all felt that it was probably in the best interest,” Dombrowski said, “to have a change of scenery.”
Throughout the offseason, Dombrowski didn’t conceal the Phillies’ intention to move on from Castellanos. Early in the winter, they were hoping to find a team that would pay more of Castellanos’ salary.
But over the last few weeks, they hoped to simply move him off the roster, even if it meant paying down most of his salary. In releasing Castellanos, the Phillies must pay his $20 million salary minus the league minimum salary ($780,000) if he signs elsewhere.
“I know the dollars weren’t standing in the way at this point of clubs taking him,” Dombrowski said.
Maybe the whole thing will be humbling to Castellanos. He punctuated his letter with this: “I love this game. I love being a teammate and I am addicted to winning. I will learn from this.”
But after the eighth inning June 16 in Miami, it wasn’t ever going to be with the Phillies.
CLEARWATER, Fla. — For years, a tucked-away corner of the Phillies’ spring-training clubhouse has belonged to the stars. And because the roster hasn’t changed much since 2022, neither have the nameplates above the lockers.
Schwarber did a double take almost as soon as he walked through the door here Wednesday, even before Realmuto pointed it out. Left fielder Brandon Marsh stopped Miller in the hallway and said, “Man, you got a good little locker spot there.”
“They’ve all kind of made little comments here and there about it,” said Miller, the top prospect who now occupies the space once reserved for Nick Castellanos, the disgruntled $20 million right fielder who no longer has a locker (a photo of him was removed from a hallway in the clubhouse, too) because he will be traded or released by the weekend. “I was surprised seeing it myself.”
Miller shouldn’t be surprised. Nobody should.
Never mind that he is 21, the second-youngest player among 68 in camp. Or that he dressed at a temporary locker on the other side of the room last spring and lived with his parents 20 miles north of the Phillies’ complex.
Miller is in the Phillies’ plans — and sooner than later. So, it isn’t a coincidence, according to manager Rob Thomson, that he and fellow top prospect Justin Crawford (No. 80 in your spring-training program) are taking up residence on Millionaires’ Row.
“We upgraded a little bit,” Crawford said, laughing.
In 2026, after back-to-back divisional-round knockouts, the Phillies will still be led by Harper & Friends, few of whom have aged out of their prime. But they also aren’t getting younger.
As it is, the Phillies are trying to become only the 10th team in baseball history to make the playoffs with four players age 33 or older getting at least 500 plate appearances. If new right fielder Adolis García joins Harper, Turner, Schwarber, and Realmuto, the Phillies would be only the third team to make the playoffs with five. It hasn’t happened since the 2007 New York Yankees.
So, the Phillies must get younger if they’re going to prop open the proverbial window to contend long beyond this year. And that’s where Crawford, Miller, and 22-year-old pitcher Andrew Painter come in — and why they may be the three most important players in camp.
“Crawford and Miller and Andrew, we know they’re all very talented,” said Zack Wheeler, at 35 the dean of the starting rotation. “It’s good to have those guys around. You can’t have everybody under big contracts. You’ve got to have some young guys. We have a good locker room to accept those guys. They can ask any of these guys questions, and they’ll definitely help out.”
That’s the idea.
Crawford, 22, is the presumptive opening-day center fielder after batting .300 at every level of the minors. He might’ve gotten called up last August if the Phillies didn’t trade for Harrison Bader at the deadline. His time is most certainly now.
“I’ll say it feels a little different,” said Crawford, who would be the youngest outfielder on a Phillies opening-day roster since Greg Luzinski and Mike Anderson in 1973. “Last year was kind of the excitement of being in big-league camp for the first time. This, I feel a little bit more laid-back and just ready to get to work and compete. Excited to see what happens.”
Crawford insists he isn’t taking anything for granted. His dad, four-time All-Star outfielder Carl Crawford, wouldn’t allow it. Neither would his godfather, Junior Spivey, who played five seasons in the majors, or personal hitting coach Mike Easler, who had a 14-year major-league career.
And then there are Crawford’s new neighbors in the high-rent district of the clubhouse.
“I came in and still it was a little surreal,” Crawford said despite getting a heads-up from a teammate of where his locker was located. “It was like, ‘Wow,’ from being over there [on the other side of the room] last year. So, it’s pretty cool and definitely a good, nice moment.”
The Phillies did this in 2023 with Painter. They gave him a locker alongside Wheeler and around the corner from Aaron Nola and a chance to compete for a spot in the rotation as a 19-year-old. But he suffered a torn ligament in his right elbow, had surgery, and missed two seasons.
Painter has a good chance of making the team out of camp in part because Wheeler will be behind the other pitchers as he comes back from thoracic outlet syndrome, a condition in which a vein is compressed between the collarbone and rib cage. Wheeler had a rib removed in September.
But Painter isn’t merely a placeholder. The Phillies remain bullish on his future even after he struggled last season in triple A. Many rival evaluators “cut him some slack,” as one NL scout said, after the two-year absence and believe he still has top-of-the-rotation potential.
Right-hander Andrew Painter has a chance to be in the Phillies’ season-opening starting rotation.
And if Crawford and Painter are ticketed for the opening-day roster, Miller may not be far behind. It isn’t only the placement of his locker. As camp opened for pitchers and catchers, Thomson confirmed that Miller will get reps at third base, in addition to his natural shortstop, a spot occupied by Turner.
It won’t be the first time. Miller played third base at J.W. Mitchell High School, up the road from here in Trinity, Fla., before the Phillies drafted him in the first round in 2023. This spring will be about “relearning” the position, he said, notably the footwork and the hops.
“I just want to get there [to the majors],” Miller said. “I don’t care where it is in the field. As long as I’m there, I’m cool.”
If Crawford, Painter, and Miller can get there, the Phillies will have threaded the needle of replenishing the roster while also contending. It’s a tricky balance.
Thomson was a coach with the Yankees in 2017 when they successfully blended youth (Aaron Judge, Gary Sánchez, Greg Bird, Jordan Montgomery, and Luis Severino) with a veteran core en route to 91 wins and Game 7 of the AL Championship Series.
“I think there’s some similarities there,” Thomson said. “If you want to have a really healthy organization for a sustainable future, you have to be able to infuse some youth along the way.”
And it starts, symbolically, with a couple of kids lockering alongside the stars for six weeks in February and March.
CLEARWATER, Fla. — Say this for the 2026 Phillies: They’re recognizable without a program.
Kyle Schwarber is back. So is J.T. Realmuto. And although team officials cite a new right fielder, a remade bullpen, and a commitment to two top prospects as a rebuttal to the claim that they are running back the roster, there was a week in January when they nearly put the darned thing in a blender.
If the Phillies signed Bo Bichette — and they agreed to offer what he asked for (seven years, $200 million, according to a major-league source) — it would have set off a chain reaction. They’d have moved on from Realmuto to a less-expensive catcher (they talked with Victor Caratini) and probably have traded Alec Bohm to open third base.
Instead, Bichette took a higher-salary, shorter-term offer from the New York Mets, and the Phillies turned back to Realmuto. Re-signing two foundational players — also, the best DH and catcher in free agency — was Plan A anyway. And keeping together the guts of a roster that won … checks standings … 96 games last season is sensible, even if fans are restless after back-to-back divisional-round knockouts.
That’s the backdrop as spring training begins. Let’s dive in with our annual Starting 9 — a lineup of Phillies questions for the next six weeks in Florida.
Rob Thomson is set to begin his fifth season as manager of the Phillies.
“I think it’s to be determined,” the manager said recently on The Inquirer’s Phillies Extra podcast. “But I feel better about it.”
It’s a high bar. And the Phillies did lose mainstay starter Ranger Suárez and trade-deadline spark Harrison Bader in free agency. But Thomson’s optimism stems from a belief that rookies Andrew Painter and Justin Crawford can fill those spots. Having star closer Jhoan Duran for a full season helps, too. Adolis García is, at minimum, a defensive upgrade over Nick Castellanos in right field.
It’s reasonable to call for change, and the flirtation with Bichette signaled management’s interest in a different look. But different isn’t always good, and BetMGM set the Same Old Phillies’ over/under win total at 90.5, a reminder that they’re still very good.
Are they better? Not yet, but check back.
Bryce Harper was still productive in 2025, but he wasn’t patient at the plate or particularly clutch either.
Perspective is important. Harper missed most of June with an inflamed right wrist, leaving his counting stats — homers (27), RBIs (75), doubles (32) — short of his career norms. But by OPS (.844), he ranked 22nd among 145 hitters who qualified for the batting title. Based on OPS-plus, he was 29% better than league average.
Here’s what Harper wasn’t: patient. He swung at 35.6% of pitches out of the strike zone, well above his career average (29.3%). He wasn’t clutch, either. Only one of the Phillies’ biggest 43 hits by Win Probability Added belonged to MV3; he batted .233 with a .762 OPS with runners in scoring position.
The first thing seems fixable. Maybe it will help if Harper bats in front of Schwarber rather than behind him. The second? The Phillies are betting on it being aberrational, not the start of a decline at age 33.
Phillies ace Zack Wheeler is attempting to come back from major surgery in September.
To recap: In August, Wheeler developed a blood clot near his right shoulder and was diagnosed with a condition in which a vein is compressed between the collarbone and rib cage. He had surgery to remove the clot, then a second procedure in September to relieve the vein by removing the first rib.
Wheeler spent the offseason in Philadelphia, rehabbing under the supervision of team doctors and trainers. He got back on a mound last week. He will turn 36 in May. It’s unlikely he will be ready for opening day, Thomson said Monday, but the Phillies don’t expect him to be far behind.
“He’s wants to be an All-Star,” Thomson said. “He’s got a carrot out there that he’s after. We’re not going to push him because we want a healthy Zack Wheeler. We want him back to normal, and I believe he’s going to get there.”
Normal, for Wheeler, is among the best two or three pitchers in baseball, dominant and durable. It’s a long way back to that level. It’ll be fascinating to watch him try to get there.
Alec Bohm is a candidate to return to the cleanup spot for the Phillies.
4. Batting cleanup …?
This is where Bichette came in. Maybe not in the cleanup spot, per se. But the two-time American League hit king surely would have joined Trea Turner, Harper, and Schwarber — in some order — in the top half of the lineup.
So, now what?
“I’ve got some ideas,” Thomson said. “I’ve got to talk to the players about it, but you could see a change.”
The implication is that Schwarber and Harper will be flip-flopped in the Nos. 2 and 3 spots behind Turner as a way of getting Harper to see more strikes. But then who bats behind Schwarber?
Bohm may be the first choice. He batted .216 with a .571 OPS in 26 starts in the cleanup spot last year, but excelled there (.283, .769) in 2024. García is another option after batting cleanup in 71% of his starts for the Rangers since 2022. But Thomson believes García put too much pressure on himself last year in Texas and might prefer to ease him in.
Either way, the Phillies must get more production out of the cleanup spot. They ranked 20th last season with a .720 OPS.
The Phillies are expected to trade or release Nick Castellanos before the first full-squad workout in spring training.
5. Will anyone trade for Castellanos?
Think of Castellanos as a car on the side of the road. It’s running, with the keys in the ignition. The Phillies just haven’t gotten anyone to drive it away.
They have a few more days.
“We continue to talk to clubs about [a trade],” president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said Monday.
And if they don’t find a taker before Monday’s first full-squad workout?
“At this point, we’re doing everything we can to make a move by that time period,” Dombrowski said. “I’ll leave it at that right now.“
OK, so everyone knows that Castellanos’ relationship with the organization soured last season when he clashed with Thomson over playing time, including an incident in the dugout in Miami that led to a one-game benching.
In November, Dombrowski said “change of sceneries can be beneficial for people.” Nothing has changed. But before the Phillies release Castellanos and swallow his entire $20 million salary, they will exhaust all trade options. The San Diego Padres have a need after ranking 27th in the majors with a .630 OPS from the DH spot. The Colorado Rockies need a lot, including a DH (.613 OPS last season).
In any case, it would be a stunner if Castellanos walks into the clubhouse next week.
Rookie Justin Crawford is the Phillies’ presumptive opening-day center fielder.
6. What’s reasonable to expect from Crawford and Painter?
Nobody expects them to carry the team.
Crawford turned 22 last month; Painter will be 23 in April. Besides, Harper & Friends (Turner, Schwarber, Realmuto, Wheeler, and Aaron Nola) are still near enough to their primes to do the heaviest lifting.
But if the organization is to transition from this core to the next without a rebuilding gap in between, Crawford, Painter, and eventually top prospect Aidan Miller must light the way.
The projection models are promising. Crawford is pegged to bat .286/.337/.390 with seven homers, 29 steals, a 103 wRC+ (weighted runs created plus; 100 is league average), and 2.0 wins above replacement, based on the ZiPS forecasting system. Steamer, another system used by FanGraphs, has Painter for a 4.69 ERA in 133 innings.
Those would be solid numbers for a rookie No. 9 hitter and debutant No. 5 starter, with room to grow.
Phillies top prospect Aidan Miller has a chance to make his major-league debut later this season.
7. When will it be Miller’s time?
Of all the reasons to be bullish on Miller — extra-base power, a high contact rate, and stolen-base aptitude — here’s one more: He’s a quick study.
To wit: After getting promoted to high-A Jersey Shore in 2024, Miller batted .169 and slugged .268 through his first 71 at-bats. He made adjustments and got on a .299/.526 roll over his final 154 at-bats.
Exhibit B: Last year, the Phillies challenged Miller by starting him at double-A Reading, where he was among the youngest players in the league. He batted .234 and slugged .355 through the All-Star break, then went on a .302/.550 kick before going 9-for-27 (.333) with a 1.032 OPS in a weeklong triple-A cameo to end the season.
It wouldn’t be surprising, then, if the Phillies punch the accelerator on Miller. He’s blocked at shortstop by Turner, but the plan is to get him reps at third base in spring training.
If Miller gets off to a blazing start in triple A and Bohm struggles again in April, well, it could get interesting.
Phillies ace Cristopher Sánchez will pitch for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic next month.
8. Will the WBC be a disruption?
Eleven players — more than one-quarter of the 40-man roster — will leave camp at the end of the month to compete for their respective countries in the World Baseball Classic. It’s not ideal.
But the Phillies aren’t unique, either. The Boston Red Sox also will have 11 players leaving major league camp; the Seattle Mariners will have 10. The Mets, Milwaukee Brewers, and Chicago Cubs will have eight apiece.
“I played for Team Canada a couple of times, and to play for your country is quite an honor,” Thomson said. “You’re holding your breath when the guys go. But at the end of it, if they come out of it clean, I think it’s really good.”
Specifically, the Phillies will cross their fingers and toes for the health of five pitchers: Cristopher Sánchez (Dominican Republic), Nola (Italy), Taijuan Walker (Mexico), and relievers Brad Keller (U.S.) and José Alvarado (Venezuela). Harper and Schwarber will join Keller on Team USA. Edmundo Sosa (Panama), Johan Rojas (D.R.), and Garrett Stubbs and Max Lazar (Israel) are also competing.
Veteran major-league outfielder Bryan De La Cruz will be a nonroster invitee to Phillies camp after signing a minor-league contract in November.
9. Is there a sleeper to watch?
Don’t mistake passing on a handful of righty-hitting free-agent outfielders as an indication that the Phillies are still holding out hope for Brandon Marsh to hit left-handed pitching. Maybe he’ll turn into a latter-day Schwarber, but the Phillies aren’t under any illusions.
In that case, why not sign Rob Refsnyder, Lane Thomas, Austin Hays, Miguel Andújar, or at least so far, Randal Grichuk?
Two words: Otto Kemp.
Dombrowski and Thomson have talked up Kemp throughout the winter. Kemp slugged .558 with four homers in 57 plate appearances after getting called back up in September despite playing through shoulder and knee injuries that required offseason surgeries. He’s healthy now and will get the first shot at platooning with Marsh in left field.
But there’s another option. Maybe you remember Bryan De La Cruz from his years with the Miami Marlins. He bats from the right side and has 58 career homers, seven against the Phillies. The 29-year-old signed a minor-league deal in November, then batted .301 with eight homers and an .888 OPS en route to being named MVP of the Dominican Winter League.
Could he be the surprise of camp? There’s always one.
And if the Phillies don’t find a taker for the disgruntled right fielder before the first full-squad workout Monday?
“We’re doing everything we can to make a move by that time period,” Dombrowski said. “I’ll leave it at that right now.“
If the Phillies don’t trade Castellanos, they’re expected to release him. Either way, they will pay all or most of his $20 million salary.
No matter what, though, don’t expect him to walk through the doors of the spring-training complex.
Castellanos’ relationship within the clubhouse soured last season when he clashed with manager Rob Thomson over playing time, including an incident in the dugout in Miami that led to a one-game benching. In December, the Phillies extended Thomson’s contract through 2027.
Also in December, the Phillies signed free-agent outfielder Adolis García to a one-year, $10 million contract to take Castellanos’ spot in right field.
Castellanos turns 34 in March and is coming off his worst season in which he fumbled his everyday role in August. He batted .250 with 17 homers and an 88 OPS-plus (12% below league average). He also was among the majors’ worst outfield defenders, with negative-11 defensive runs saved.
But in a depressed offensive environment across the sport, especially among righty-hitting outfielders, the Phillies hoped to peddle Castellanos to a team that was willing to pick up even a portion of his salary in the last year of his contract.
The Pittsburgh Pirates appeared to be a potential partner after losing out in the bidding for several free agents, notably Kyle Schwarber. But Pittsburgh signed designated hitter Marcell Ozuna to a one-year, $12 million contract on Monday.
A major league source said Monday the Phillies were still talking with “two or three teams” about Castellanos. The San Diego Padres might have a need after ranking 27th in the majors with a .630 OPS from the DH spot last season. The Colorado Rockies need a lot, including a DH (.613 OPS last season).
Super Bowl LX will monopolize our attention Sunday as only the Big Game can. But once the buzzer sounds on Patriots-Seahawks, mitts will be poppin’ across Florida and Arizona.
With Phillies pitchers and catchers set for workouts beginning Wednesday in Clearwater, Fla., LX baseball notes:
I. Before the continuation of the “Is Bryce Harper still elite?” debate, another note from last season: Only one of the Phillies’ 43 biggest hits, based on Win Probability Added, belonged to Harper. He had four of their 13 biggest hits from 2019-24.
II. So, whatever you thought of Dave Dombrowski’s assessment that Harper “didn’t have an elite season like he has had in the past,” can we agree that 2025 was un-Bryce-like?
III. It’s probably giving Dombrowski too much credit to suggest he was being calculated. But the last time anyone publicly poked Harper, he homered twice in Game 3 of the 2023 division series and stared a hole through Braves shortstop “Attaboy” Orlando Arcia. A chip on Harper’s shoulder wouldn’t be the worst thing for the Phillies.
IV. Fact: Harper faced a lower rate of strikes (43%) than any hitter in baseball last season.
V. Another fact: Harper swung at 35.6% of pitches out of the strike zone, 129th among 144 qualified hitters and far above his career mark (29.3%), according to Statcast.
VI. It’s about Harper’s swing decisions, then, as much as lineup protection. “If he gets that [chase] number down to 32, just drop it 3%, now he’s swinging at better pitches, he’s going to do more damage,” hitting coach Kevin Long told The Inquirer’s Phillies Extra podcast. “The onus falls on me to make sure he’s swinging at the right pitches and him to make sure he’s not expanding. No matter what, he has to control his at-bats.”
Kyle Schwarber batted in front of Bryce Harper for most of last season, when he hit 56 homers and was runner-up for NL MVP.
VII. Still, don’t be surprised if Rob Thomson puts Kyle Schwarber behind Harper in the batting order. It was the other way around for most of last season.
VIII. A month before the Mets signed Bo Bichette — out from under the Phillies’ nose, by the way — they pushed hard for Schwarber, league sources said. The Phillies re-signed Schwarber to a five-year, $150 million contract, the biggest deal ever for a full-time designated hitter.
IX. Speaking of Bichette, set a calendar reminder for June 18-21, the Mets’ first visit to South Philly.
X. The Mets lost 18½ games in the NL East standings in 108 days, missed the playoffs, then overhauled the roster … and fans bemoaned not bringing back Pete Alonso, Brandon Nimmo, Jeff McNeil, and Edwin Díaz. The Phillies won another division title, had a bad week in October, then ran back the core of the roster … and fans bemoaned keeping the band together. Strange days.
XI. BetMGM set the Phillies’ over/under win total at 90.5. Same as the Mets’.
XII. July will be a big month for business at the corner of 11th & Pattison: Futures Game (July 12), Home Run Derby (July 13), All-Star Game (July 14), Mets (July 16-19), Dodgers (July 20-22), and Yankees (July 24-26).
XIII. Schwarber has 340 homers. If he hits 32 per year — and a work stoppage doesn’t wipe out part of the 2027 season — he would reach 500 homers before his new Phillies contract runs out in 2030.
XIV. Harper has 363 homers and would need to hit 23 per year to reach 500 before the expiration of his 13-year contract in 2031.
XV. Players who hit their 500th homer with the Phillies: Mike Schmidt, on April 18, 1987.
Zack Wheeler is recovering from thoracic outlet decompression surgery in September.
XVI. After being diagnosed with a blood clot in his upper right arm, Zack Wheeler had venous thoracic outlet decompression surgery in September. The recovery for a pitcher typically takes up to eight months, Thomson said, which would put Wheeler on a May timetable.
XVII. Bet on Wheeler to beat that projection. He began throwing from a mound this week, a source close to the 35-year-old righty said. The Phillies won’t push Wheeler, but he’s motivated to make as many starts as possible in what he has said will be his second-to-last season.
XVIII. Not every pitcher recovers at the same rate, but Diamondbacks starter Merrill Kelly had vTOS surgery in September 2020 and started Arizona’s second game of the 2021 season.
XIX. If Wheeler isn’t ready, top prospect Andrew Painter almost certainly will occupy a spot in the season-opening rotation. Painter, who turns 23 on April 10, could be the Phillies’ youngest starter since Ranger Suárez on Aug. 16, 2018 (22 years, 355 days).
XX.Justin Crawfordturned 22 on Jan. 13. If he makes the team out of camp, as expected, he will be the youngest position player on a Phillies opening-day roster since Freddy Galvis in 2012 and the youngest outfielder since Greg Luzinski and Mike Anderson in 1973.
XXI. Crawford’s ground-ball rate in triple A last season (59.4%) would’ve easily led the majors, topping Christian Yelich’s 56.7% mark.
XXII. But Crawford also would’ve ranked fifth with 67 bolts, defined by Statcast as sprints of at least 30 feet per second. (Trea Turner led the majors with 117 bolts.)
XXIII. Is it really so bad, then, that Crawford tends to hit a lot of balls on the ground? “Hopefully it doesn’t matter,” Lehigh Valley hitting coach Adam Lind said. “His approach works right now. He’s super fast. His swing works to where he can hit the ball all over the yard. Whenever a defender has to take one step away from first base, that usually means he’ll be safe.”
XXIV. Quiz: Crawford could be the Phillies’ eighth different opening-day center fielder in nine years. Name the others. (Answer below.)
XXV. Upon stepping down as Twins president last week, Derek Falvey cited ownership’s “different plan” for the team’s direction. If Minnesota enters a full rebuild, All-Star center fielder Byron Buxton would be widely coveted, including by the Phillies. Buxton, 32, has three years and $45 million left on his contract, plus no-trade rights.
XXVI. The Phillies’ projected luxury-tax payroll is $316.3 million, according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts, trailing the Dodgers ($402.5M), Mets ($376.6M), and Yankees ($335.5M). For a second consecutive year, the Phillies will pay a 110% tax on every dollar spent above $304 million, the highest of four thresholds.
XXVII. In 2025, the Phillies paid $56,062,903 in luxury taxes on a $314,329,912 payroll, the Associated Press reported. Their tax bill has risen from $2,882,657 in 2022, $6,977,345 in 2023, and $14,351,954 in 2024.
XXVIII. Owners will gather Wednesday in Palm Beach, Fla., for their quarterly meetings. Many owners are pushing for a salary cap in the next collective bargaining agreement. The players’ union has historically opposed a cap. It would take eight of 30 owners to block a salary-cap proposal. The existing CBA expires Dec. 1, with a lockout likely to follow.
XXVIX. Last month, commissioner Rob Manfred told a New York radio station that MLB has discussed schedule changes, including an in-season tournament similar to the NBA Cup. The players would need to agree to any new formats.
XXX. The Phillies will send 11 players from their 40-man roster to the World Baseball Classic: Schwarber, Harper, and Brad Keller (U.S.); Cristopher Sánchez and Johan Rojas (Dominican Republic); José Alvarado (Venezuela); Taijuan Walker (Mexico); Aaron Nola (Italy); Garrett Stubbs and Max Lazar (Israel); Edmundo Sosa (Panama). Preliminary round games begin March 5, with the final set for March 17 in Miami.
XXXI.Jesús Luzardo was invited to pitch for Venezuela and Team USA but declined. “It’s very important for my family, for me, to represent Venezuela,” Luzardo told Phillies Extra. “But just in terms of intelligent decision-making, after a long last year and looking forward to a long this year, I thought the correct decision would be to take a slow spring training and make sure everything’s along the right line to be prepared for the year.” Luzardo is eligible for free agency after this season.
XXXII. Left-handed pitcher A: 3.59 ERA, 544 strikeouts, 1.287 WHIP, 117 ERA-plus in 588⅓ innings since 2022.
XXXIII. Left-handed pitcher B: 3.83 ERA, 602 strikeouts, 1.186 WHIP, 116 ERA-plus in 529⅓ innings since 2022.
XXXIV. Suárez (Lefty A) signed a five-year, $130 million contract with the Red Sox last month that will cover his ages 30-34 seasons.
XXXV. Luzardo (Lefty B) will pitch at age-28 this season.
XXXVI. Quiz answer: Brandon Marsh (2025), Rojas (2024), Marsh (2023), Matt Vierling (2022), Adam Haseley (2021), Roman Quinn (2020), Odúbel Herrera (2019), and Aaron Altherr (2018).
Jesús Luzardo posted a 3.92 ERA in a career-high 183⅔ innings in his first season with the Phillies in 2025.
XXXVII. Sánchez threw the most changeups (1,084) in baseball last season. Among 72 pitchers who threw at least 300, he ranked ninth in opponents’ batting average (.170) and slugging (.243) against his changeup.
XXXVIII. Changeup artist Cole Hamels on why Sánchez’s is so dominant: “One thing I’ve noticed is you cannot recognize the spin. It’s the same [as the two-seamer]. So, it’s a coin flip: Am I going to try to hit 97 [mph] with sink, or am I going to hit 87 with drop-off-the-table [action]? And he’s not scared to throw it in any type of count, with anybody on.”
XXXIX. By finishing second in the Cy Young voting last year, Sánchez’s club options for 2029 and 2030 increased by $1 million apiece to $15 million and $16 million.
XL. The automated ball-strike system is coming to MLB after being tested last year in spring training and the minors. Each team is allowed two challenges per game. Thomson prefers that challenges be initiated by the catcher or batters, with specific hitters getting a green light to challenge.
XLI. Opinions about ABS are varied. “There’s a human element pitchers like with umpires,” reliever Tanner Banks said last month. “Maybe you steal [a strike] because the catcher does a great job. But at the end of the day, you want consistency. The umpires I’ve talked to are for it if it helps make the right call.”
XLII. Imagine if the Phillies could’ve challenged umpire Mark Wegner’s missed strike call on Sánchez’s 2-2 pitch to Alex Call with one out in the seventh inning of Game 4 of last year’s NL division series. Call walked on the next pitch and scored the tying run. Sánchez said Wegner admitted that he got it wrong.
XLIII. A catcher’s game-calling is among the last skills that are largely immeasurable through analytics, which explains why it took so long for the Phillies and J.T. Realmuto to reach an agreement in free agency. At 35, amid three years of declining offense, Realmuto’s value is tied to his intangible impact on the pitching staff.
XLIV. Since 2023, opponents had a .682 OPS and Phillies pitchers had a 3.75 ERA with Realmuto behind the plate. The major-league averages were .722 and 4.18.
XLV. “In my opinion, catchers are undervalued as far as contracts and dollars go,” said Realmuto, who eventually accepted a three-year, $45 million offer. “I truly believe it’s one of, if not the most important position on the field, and I just enjoy fighting for that.”
XLVI. Quiz: Realmuto started a career-high 132 games behind the plate last season. In the last 80 years, how many catchers started that many games at age 34 or older? (Answer below.)
XLVII. Player A: .260/.306/.426, 121 doubles, 82 homers, 100 OPS-plus in 2,477 plate appearances.
XLVIII. Player B: .237/.296/.441, 118 doubles, 110 homers, 107 OPS-plus in 2,473 plate appearances.
LIX.Nick Castellanos (Player A) in four seasons with the Phillies (ages 30-33).
L.Adolis García (Player B) in the last four seasons with the Rangers (ages 29-32).
LI. Castellanos ranked last among all outfielders in defensive runs saved (minus-41) since 2022; Garcia was tied for ninth (plus-23).
LII.Bryson Stott lowered his hands, moved them closer to his body, and batted .294 with an .855 OPS after the All-Star break last season. It’s one reason Phillies officials are confident in running back almost the same lineup.
LIII. Here’s another: Marsh batted .303 with an .836 OPS after May 1.
LIV. If depth is a factor, and it usually is, the open seats in the bullpen could go to Rule 5 pick Zach McCambley and Zach Pop, who is out of minor league options. But Thomson is talking up Kyle Backhus, a lefty with a low arm slot who was acquired in a trade with Arizona.
LV. Righty-hitting outfielder Bryan De La Cruz will be in camp as a nonroster invitee after signing a minor-league contract in November. De La Cruz, 29, has major-league experience, mostly with the Marlins. He was MVP of the Dominican Winter League, batting .301 with eight homers and an .888 OPS in 46 games.
Chase Utley is getting closer to being elected to the Hall of Fame.
LVI. Lefty reliever Génesis Cabrera also will be in camp as a nonroster invitee. Once a promising reliever with the Cardinals, Cabrera hit Harper in the face with a 97 mph fastball in 2021. The Phillies will be his sixth team since 2024.
LVII. It’s clear that Chase Utley will eventually get elected to the Hall of Fame after reaching 59.1%, 68 votes shy of the requisite three-quarter majority, in his third year on the ballot. But will it take one more voting cycle or two for him to get to the 75% mark?
LVIII. The electorate changes each year, depending on how many writers join the process upon reaching 10 years of membership in the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. But consider Carlos Beltrán’s path to election: 57.1% in 2024, 70.3% in 2025, and finally 84.2% this year. So, pencil in Utley for the Class of 2028 … and maybe book a hotel in Cooperstown for 2027 just in case.
LIX. Quiz answer: Six. Realmuto (2025), Yadier Molina (2017), Jason Kendall (2008), Tony Peña (1991), Elston Howard (1964), and Bob Boone (1982-86).
How do you live down a mistake that will stick with you for, well, probably forever? Laughing at yourself isn’t a bad place to start, at least after all the initial feelings and impulses — anger, disappointment, self-flagellation — washed over you.
When Phillies pitchers and catchers hold their first official workout Wednesday in Clearwater, Fla., it will have been 125 days since Kerkering bobbled a comebacker at his feet, tried to get an out at home instead of at first base, and lobbed it over Realmuto’s outstretched mitt, ending the Phillies’ season in the 11th inning of the fourth game of the division series.
It wasn’t the reason they lost to the Dodgers. It probably wasn’t even among the top 10 reasons. But it was only the second time ever that a playoff series ended on an error, and in the age of social media, clips of Kerkering’s blunder were everywhere.
Orion Kerkering’s errant throw to home plate ended the Phillies’ playoff run in Game 4 of the divisional round last season.
“No matter what you do, whether it’s the internet, just basic browsing — even looking up a recipe or something — it’s going to be there. It’s like the first thing,” Kerkering said this week on The Inquirer’s Phillies Extra podcast. “It’s going to always be brought up. You can’t get around it. It’s always going to be stuck there.
“But I don’t want it to like define who I am as a ballplayer in the future.”
It shouldn’t define Kerkering, who has already made 136 appearances in the majors despite not turning 25 until April. But relievers, like football kickers, tend to be remembered for their missteps. Ask Mitch Williams. Brad Lidge, too.
Kerkering faced his head-on. After the game, he stood before a wall of cameras and, with red and swollen eyes, broke down what happened. Then, rather than jetting off to an island in the middle of the ocean to get a respite from seeing his errant throw over and over, he stayed in South Jersey until the week before Thanksgiving.
“I thought it was just important to kind of embrace what happened a little bit and just try to be in the area and not run away from your problems,” Kerkering said. “Just trying to understand why everything happened and try to digest everything in that moment.”
Kerkering didn’t know how people who recognized him in Wawa or at the gym would react. He found it to be quite the opposite of Williams, who received death threats after the Joe Carter homer in 1993, and recently deposed Eagles offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo, whose South Jersey house was egged in the midst of a December losing streak.
“It was just like, ‘Hey, you’re all good; we believe in you,’ and stuff like that,” Kerkering said. “What kind of took me off-guard is how many people, they know you messed up, they know you can do better next time, but how kind of supportive they are.”
Support came from other sources. Dave Dombrowski said the Phillies would offer the pitcher “whatever assistance he needs,” and Kerkering said the team’s mental health staff checked in on him. He heard from friends and former teammates and coaches.
At first, Kerkering avoided looking at his phone. But his dad, a sniper for 20 years in the Marines before becoming the emergency manager for the police department in Sarasota, Fla., has a saying that resonated.
“You’ve got to rip the Band-Aid off,’” Kerkering said. “It’s going to hurt, obviously. But the slower you do it, the more it’s going to be painful.”
After a week, Kerkering rewatched the play. He realizes now that he had more time than he thought after bobbling the ball and should’ve taken the easier out at first base. He has been told that he tends to rush things on the mound. It’s a flaw. It’s also correctable.
Lidge reached out, too, almost immediately. Although he and Kerkering hadn’t previously met, Lidge could relate. Three years before throwing the clinching pitch of the 2008 World Series for the Phillies, while with the Astros he gave up a crushing playoff homer to Albert Pujols. In 2009, he blew a save in the World Series against the Yankees.
“We had a good conversation, just kind of him explaining his experiences,” Kerkering said. “Everyone takes their time of getting over that hump. Some days are good, some days are bad. It’s how you get over that hump, even just in regular day-to-day life where it’s like, ‘What can you do to get over it?’
“Because it’s going to linger no matter what. But how can you internally fix it or fix that mindset moving forward?”
“We’ve all made mistakes. Mine just so happened to be in front of whatever, 10 million people,” says Orion Kerkering.
But Kerkering remains. He dominated in May and June, looking like a future closer. But the Phillies traded for star closer Jhoan Duran at the deadline in July, and Kerkering struggled through the summer. He regained his mojo late in the season and appeared in all four playoff games against the Dodgers.
“I don’t think I really had that good of a year,” said Kerkering, who finished with a 3.30 ERA in 60 innings. “It’s like, be more consistent with the heater, be more consistent with the sinker, get the sweeper back to what it was in ’23, ’24, how dominant it was, and kind of get more guys to swing.”
Team officials believe in Kerkering’s stuff. As important, they believe in his head.
Kerkering is aware of his reputation within the clubhouse as “a goofy kind of kid.” Former Phillies reliever Jeff Hoffman once described him as having “no filter” and keeping everyone on their toes with what comes out of his mouth next.
Teammates say Kerkering takes his job seriously, but not himself. So, rather than dwelling on a season-ending mistake, he’s intent on learning from it — and occasionally making light of it.
“You just kind of live and forget with it,” Kerkering said. “We’ve all made mistakes. Mine just so happened to be in front of whatever, 10 million people, between watching it, hearing about it around the whole country. However you want to look at it, it [stinks].
“But I think, just overall, it’s like, if that’s how someone wants to define you, then let them. But I’m not going to let it define me.”
When the Phillies report to spring training Wednesday, it will have been 125 days since last season ended on Orion Kerkering’s 11th-inning throwing error at Dodger Stadium. How does an athlete – even a major-league pitcher who is 24, with a gifted right arm and a long career ahead of him – move forward from something like that? Kerkering joined Phillies Extra to discuss the path back.
