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  • ‘Phillies Extra’ Q&A: Brad Keller on committing to being a reliever, advice for Andrew Painter, and more

    ‘Phillies Extra’ Q&A: Brad Keller on committing to being a reliever, advice for Andrew Painter, and more

    Brad Keller sat at a gate at Philadelphia International Airport, awaiting a flight home after signing with the Phillies, when his phone rang with an invitation to join the most talented American baseball roster ever assembled.

    And in that moment, on a cold day in December, it must have dawned on Keller how much his life had changed.

    A year ago, Keller was in spring training with the Cubs, trying to make the team as a nonroster invitee on a minor-league contract. But after a dominant 2025 season (2.07 ERA in 68 appearances), he’s one of the best setup relievers in the sport, earning a two-year, $22 million contract from the Phillies and a spot in Team USA’s bullpen for the upcoming World Baseball Classic.

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    Keller, 30, sat down last week with Phillies Extra, The Inquirer’s baseball podcast, for a wide-ranging conversation about his first few weeks in Phillies camp, wearing the stars and stripes, why he believes he’s more than a one-year bullpen wonder, and more.

    Here are a few excerpts. Watch the full interview below and subscribe to the Phillies Extra podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

    Q: What makes you confident that you can take the terrific year you had in 2025 with the Cubs and build on it?

    A: I think that’s exactly it, just continuing to build on it. I have a good set of cues that I was using all year last year, kind of even when I went through some ruts and things like that, that kind of got me out of it pretty quickly. So, just trust the work that I put in, trust the process. I know the relieving lifestyle. It’s not always going to be perfect, but ultimately we’re just trying to do our job out there. And just try to put up a zero. It might be [with] some runners on, might have to battle through some traffic, but ultimately our job is to put a zero up and pass it on to the next guy. So, just building on what I did last year and continue to get better.

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    Going into spring this year, we’re still working on some things. Last year, my sweeper at times was a little not as consistent as [I was] hoping it to be. So this year it has kind of been my point of emphasis, going through spring, just kind of nailing that in, really [homing] in, when I want it for a strike, when I want it for a ball, things like that. There’s always things to work on. And I’m not just trying to sit there and just be like, ‘OK, last year’s last year.’ There is still even things last year that I would like to get better at going into this year. And so there’s always work to be had.

    Brad Keller emerged as a key arm in the Cubs bullpen last season, posting a 2.07 ERA in 68 games.
    Q: From what I heard in the offseason, there were some teams that looked at you as a potential starter. What can you tell me about your free agent experience and why you chose to continue down the path as a reliever?

    A: … I had a couple of teams reach out this year that were like, ‘Hey, we think that there’s a chance that you could still do it, and we believe that you could still be a starter.’ And I told them, ‘Yeah, I’m down to start. That’s great.’ But I loved the bullpen last year. There was nothing like the adrenaline rush that you would get going into a game, big moment, big situation, like getting out of it, pitching in the playoffs, coming into big games like that. That gives me chills thinking about it, because it was just such a special experience.

    And so part of me was like, ‘I don’t want to give that up.’ And I know even when we were talking about the starter route, it was like, ‘There was always the fallback plan, and if it doesn’t work out, we’ll still just put you in the bullpen.’ But I had success with it last year. I had success with it in the past, beginning [of] my career, so maybe we should just dive full in because at the beginning of the last year, even when I was in the bullpen, I was still the two-inning guy, still the long guy. So it was still always like am I going to start?

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    … So finally, when I felt like I put all those to the side and just commit to being in the bullpen, commit to being a reliever, that’s when I feel like my season kind of changed. Going into free agency I was like, let’s just commit to this. I really enjoyed it. It’s not like something that I was on the fence about. Once I was all in, I was like, this is a lot of fun. And I had a good group of guys last year that really kind of showed me the ropes, especially transitioning into just a completely different role, being able to be ready every single day vs. one every five days or so. So that helped out a ton.

    Andrew Painter, 22, is expected to crack the Phillies’ rotation in 2026.
    Q: You were 22 and you skipped over triple A when you made your major league debut in 2018 and you had a really good year for the Royals. The Phillies are most likely going to give a 22-year-old rookie, Andrew Painter, a spot in the rotation. What do you remember about being in his position, and what’s your advice for him?

    A: I think the most important thing is just don’t try to make it more than what it is. It’s still the same game. You’ve still got to throw the ball 60 feet, 6 inches. … The lights are brighter. Obviously you’re facing guys that you’ve seen on TV, or you’ve heard the name a million times, but it’s the same game. You’ve just got to put on that competitive hat and just go to work. And it’s obviously intimidating when you’re 22 and you’re facing a bunch of guys.

    But for me, I was just trying to be a sponge my rookie year. Just try to soak in as much information as I could. Good, bad, obviously, you got to filter out that stuff, but you just try to enjoy every moment. It’s such a short time in our lives. A career span is so short in the grand scheme of things. So just try to make the most of it. Try to make all the memories. Try to soak in all the information.

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    We have a lot of veteran guys on our team, hitters, pitchers, especially in our starting staff. He’s got a lot of guys around him that he can lean on, which is really cool — [Aaron Nola], [Zack] Wheeler and [Jesús] Luzardo, and those guys. That’s just awesome to learn from and follow suit with those guys. But I think just enjoy it. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. And like I said, it goes by fast. This is Year 9 for me, and I feel like I remember myself as a rookie walking into the clubhouse for the first time. So it’s fun, but … it’s still the same game.

    Watch the entire interview for Keller’s thoughts on the Phillies bullpen, playing for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, and meeting new teammate Kyle Schwarber at the College Football Playoff national championship game in Miami.

  • Andrew Painter is ready, three years later than he expected. And maybe that’s a ‘blessing in disguise.’

    Andrew Painter is ready, three years later than he expected. And maybe that’s a ‘blessing in disguise.’

    CLEARWATER, Fla. — Before he reported to his first major league spring training camp in 2023, Andrew Painter met with his agent.

    “Ideally,” Scott Boras said, “I would love it if you didn’t throw your first pitch in the big leagues until you’re 22.”

    Sure thing, Painter thought. One problem: He was 19, and the Phillies were dangling a spot in the season-opening starting rotation.

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    “I remember looking at him like, ‘All right, what do you want me to do?’” Painter recalled Monday. “I was 19, I’m coming in, hoping to break in, so I’m sitting there like, ‘You want me to put some weight on? What do you want me to do?’”

    Three years later, Painter finds the whole thing to be oddly prophetic. Because if, as expected, the 6-foot-7 righty breaks camp with the Phillies, he will be 22 — a few days shy of his 23rd birthday on April 10 — when he makes his major league debut.

    Just as Boras hoped, albeit for much different reasons.

    Boras’s concern in 2023 stemmed from a belief, rooted in his experience with other clients, that most pitchers don’t physically mature until their early 20s. To prove his point, he rattles off a list of pitchers who debuted at 19 or 20 and flamed out by 29 or 30.

    Phillies pitcher Andrew Painter is two years removed from Tommy John elbow surgery.

    Fernando Valenzuela. Bret Saberhagen. Steve Avery. Kerry Wood. Félix Hernández. Madison Bumgarner.

    But after being crowned by Baseball America as the sport’s best minor league pitcher in 2022, with a chance to be the first teenager to start a game for the Phillies since Mark Davis in 1980, Painter put his foot on the gas in the spring of 2023. In his first Grapefruit League start, he touched 99 mph in the first inning against then-Twins star Carlos Correa and uncorked a cutter that he’d only recently started throwing.

    And he tore a ligament in his right elbow.

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    You know the rest. Doctors recommended rest and rehab, but Painter couldn’t avoid surgery. He didn’t pitch competitively for two seasons. Upon returning last year — amid expectations that he might reach the majors by “July-ish,” as Dave Dombrowski outlined — he struggled with wayward fastball command and didn’t get out of triple A.

    So here he was Monday, a fully formed 22-year-old pitcher with his top-prospect shine only slightly dulled, facing the meat of the Phillies’ order — Kyle Schwarber, J.T. Realmuto, Bryson Stott, Bryce Harper, Alec Bohm, and Brandon Marsh — in live batting practice in preparation for his first Grapefruit League start later in the week or this weekend.

    “Overall I thought his stuff was really good,” Schwarber said. “I thought the fastball had some life. Definitely had its good profile that it should have. The thing that’s going to really help him out is having his fastball and knowing where he’s going to put it. Right?”

    Did anything look different from three springs ago, before the elbow injury, when Schwarber memorably took Painter deep in the direction of U.S. 19 traffic beyond the right-field fence on a back field at the Carpenter Complex?

    “It’s a good question,” Schwarber said. “He’s getting a feel for things and making adjustments with his arm angle. I think you’re going to see a really good version of him.”

    Painter’s arm angle dropped throughout last season. Maybe it was the toll of pitching 118 innings after a two-year absence. Maybe it was something else. He said he wasn’t overly aware of it. Besides, his focus was getting through the season healthy.

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    But the Phillies believe the lower arm slot affected his ability to spot his fastball consistently. And triple-A hitters teed off, batting .329 and slugging .585 against Painter’s four-seamer.

    “In the season it’s kind of hard to keep up with that stuff, and you don’t want to mess with it in season,” Painter said. “It’s something you kind of just go back and look and you’re aware of it, but you really dial it in in the offseason.”

    When Painter went home to South Florida and resumed his offseason training at Cressey Sports Performance, he set out to raise his arm slot again. The first few weeks of spring training have been reinforcing those habits.

    Painter has made other tweaks, including the grip on his changeup. He developed blisters early last season in triple A and wasn’t able to throw the changeup as often as he wanted. It’s probably his best offspeed pitch. He also throws a hard slider, sweeper, and curveball.

    “The changeup is a big thing,” Painter said. “The changeup was really good for me last year. Kind of bringing back the sweeper. Last year I was searching for a sweeper, and that was where the arm started to drop. So, I’m getting back to the one I threw pre-TJ [Tommy John surgery].

    “Just being able to come in here and do my thing, without having to worry about pitch count or anything like that, just going out there and pitch, it’s nice.”

    Pitchers often say everything is crisper and sharper in the second year after Tommy John surgery. The Phillies are hoping that will be the case for Painter.

    Phillies pitcher Andrew Painter finishes warming up with a football during a spring training workout in Clearwater, Fla.

    But maybe Painter will benefit from finally graduating to the majors. Because team officials were salivating three years ago over the possibility that he would crack the rotation and thought for sure he would pitch in the majors last year.

    The opportunity exists for him now while Zack Wheeler is coming back from a complicated surgery to relieve pressure on a vein that was compressed between his collarbone and rib cage. The Phillies want Painter to earn a spot, but they won’t have anyone else to fall in line behind Cristopher Sánchez, Jesús Luzardo, Aaron Nola, and Taijuan Walker.

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    Painter’s time is now. At last. At age 22, just as Boras hoped.

    “I didn’t know what to make of it at the time,” Painter said. “It was weird. But guys when they’re 19, you go out there, it’s almost like your body’s not ready. It can’t handle that load. So, yeah, I do think maybe this was all kind of a blessing in disguise.”

    Extra bases

    Orion Kerkering, slowed by a strained right hamstring, is targeting the end of the week to throw a bullpen session. … The Phillies will face the Marlins at 1:10 p.m. Tuesday in Jupiter, Fla., before returning to Clearwater on Wednesday to face the Tigers.

  • The 2026 breakouts the Phillies need, starting with Aidan Miller

    The 2026 breakouts the Phillies need, starting with Aidan Miller

    Aidan Miller on the Phillies roster on opening day? Don’t count on it. But don’t completely rule it out. And don’t mark your calendar too far into the future. The April showers could bring a lot more than flowers this year.

    Two weeks into spring training, the Phillies aren’t going out of their way to disguise their hopes for their top prospect. The whole organization seems to understand that a certain degree of aggression is required in order to overtake the Dodgers in the National League and survive the Mets and Braves in the NL East. Bryce Harper made some news Sunday in an interview with Tom McCarthy and Ruben Amaro Jr. during the broadcast of the Phillies’ Grapefruit League game against the Pirates. Harper implied that Miller is battling an injury, jokingly saying that he wants to see the prospect “get off his butt and get in the game, that’d be nice. I need him to get healthy.”

    It was later revealed that Miller has been battling some back soreness. But the important part of Harper’s comment was his overarching point.

    Kyle Schwarber homers in Phillies spring home opener; Aidan Miller dealing with sore back

    “He could help us by the end, obviously,” the Phillies superstar said.

    The path of least resistance is the wisest path for now. Start Miller in the minors. Get him some time at second and third base in addition to shortstop. Evaluate the big league lineup over the first couple of months of the season, with a particularly keen eye paid toward Alec Bohm and Bryson Stott. Let the facts on the ground make the decisions for you.

    The important thing for the Phillies is not to fight those decisions should they become obvious. Miller is a special enough bat to warrant stepping outside your defensive comfort zones. He’ll be 22 years old by June 9. Over the last three seasons, 49 hitters have logged at least 200 plate appearances at the age of 22 or younger. That includes game-changers like Julio Rodríguez, Elly De La Cruz, James Wood, Corbin Carroll, and Gunnar Henderson.

    Miller is in the same class of prospects as those hitters. If he starts this season the way he finished 2025 — hitting .356 with 23 extra-base hits in his last 39 games — the Phillies will need to find a spot for him. Every day they wait will be a wasted one. They are at a point in their trajectory where they will need something unforeseen to happen in order for their lineup to produce at even 2022 levels. Miller is both the most likely candidate and the one who can move the bar the furthest north.

    Some others who still have some degree of upward mobility:

    Brandon Marsh

    Marsh is an interesting case. The gap between public perception and actual production is wider than for any player on the Phillies roster. In fact, it might be wider than for any athlete in the city. Look at Marsh’s final 2025 numbers compared with some randomly selected players:

    • Jackson Chourio: .270/.308/.463, 112 OPS+, 21 HRs, 589 PAs
    • Jackson Merrill: .264/.317/.457, 112 OPS+, 16 HRs, 483 PAs
    • Harrison Bader: .277/.347/.449, 117 OPS+, 17 HRs, 501 PAs
    • Steven Kwan: .272/.330/.374, 96 OPS+, 11 HRs, 693 PAs
    • Marsh: .280/.342/.443, 114 OPS+, 11 HRs, 425 PAs
    Brandon Marsh figures to platoon in left field with the righty-hitting Otto Kemp.

    Most interesting is the side-by-side comparison to Kwan, who was a hot trade-deadline name connected to the Phillies last summer. Marsh outproduced the Guardians’ veteran in virtually every category. Yet people would feel a lot differently about the Phillies’ outfield outlook for 2026 if it was Kwan in there instead of Marsh.

    This isn’t a one-year phenomenon, either. In the three years since the Phillies acquired Marsh from the Angels, his 115 OPS+ ranks 28th out of 106 MLB outfielders with at least 800 plate appearances. That’s higher than Chourio and Kwan and also Jazz Chisholm, Jurickson Profar, and Taylor Ward, to name a few.

    The lack of enthusiasm for Marsh isn’t entirely irrational. In the last two postseasons, he has reached base three times in 28 plate appearances over eight games. His left-handed bat is an inconvenience when attempting to construct a batting order around Harper and Kyle Schwarber. He hasn’t been the plus defender in center field that many expected when the Phillies acquired him. With a middling 39 home runs in 1,373 plate appearances over the last three seasons, he doesn’t bring prototypical corner-outfield power. Long story short, he hasn’t been the player the Phillies are sorely missing: a right-handed power bat who can hit behind Harper and/or Schwarber.

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    Marsh can’t do anything about the fact that he hits left-handed. But he does bring some positive uncertainty on the upper end of the range of outcomes. He made some noticeable improvements in his bat-to-ball game in 2025, raising his contact rate from 74.7% to 78.3%, according to FanGraphs. Much of that jump came out of the zone. He swung at more pitches out of the zone (30.5%, up from 26.1% in 2024) but also connected on more of those pitches (56.3%, up from 51.4%). The result was less power and fewer walks, but also fewer strikeouts and more base hits. All in all, the tradeoff was positive one vs. 2024. The question now is whether he can add on a little more power in the zone.

    Marsh finished last season on a serious upswing. After a brutal first six weeks of the season, he hit .299 with an .835 OPS over his last 107 games. His last two months were especially spicy, with a .325/.367/.584 batting line and eight home runs in 166 plate appearances from July 28 to the end of the regular season. During that stretch, he ranked seventh among outfielders in weighted on-base average (.401) and sixth in slugging percentage (.584) with a home run pace of about 25 per 162 games.

    Justin Crawford slashed .334/.411/.452 in triple A last season.

    Justin Crawford

    Obvious, yes, especially now that it seems he has a spot locked up on the opening day roster. It would be a huge boost if Crawford could somehow bring his .334/.411/.452 triple-A batting line to the majors without much drop-off. Hello, leadoff spot. We’ll worry about lefties later.

    But that’s not the real game-changer of a scenario. No, the one the Phillies can dream of is the one Crawford hinted at in his first at-bat of the spring, a double off the center-field wall off of big league lefty Eric Lauer. What if Crawford finally starts to develop the power suggested by his frame and his pedigree?

    Justin Crawford is ready to show he can take ‘control’ in the Phillies outfield

    It’s awfully hard for a big league hitter to swing his way on base as routinely as Crawford did in the minors. But the Phillies would gladly sacrifice some of that average for some of the pop that his papa had during his prime. Carl Crawford’s power started to come at the age of 22, in his third season in the majors. That was his first All-Star season for the Rays, when he led the majors with 19 triples and also hit 11 home runs for a .450 slugging percentage that would continue to improve throughout his early 20s.

    Justin has his dad’s frame. He has a similar swing. He finished last season with just 34 extra-base hits in 506 plate appearances. But the jump is going to come, as long as he can make big-league contact.

    The moral of the story: There is upside on this Phillies roster. It only means so much. We’ve seen that with Bohm and Stott over the last few seasons. But Miller and Crawford offer plenty of reason to hope. At the very least, the Phillies seem to understand that they could be necessities.

  • Phillies Extra with Brad Keller

    Phillies Extra with Brad Keller

    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.

  • Kyle Schwarber homers in Phillies spring home opener; Aidan Miller dealing with sore back

    Kyle Schwarber homers in Phillies spring home opener; Aidan Miller dealing with sore back

    CLEARWATER, Fla. — It didn’t take long — four pitches, to be exact — for Kyle Schwarber to hit his first home run of 2026.

    He started his spring and the Phillies’ home opener at BayCare Ballpark on a high note with a solo shot that cleared the right-field fence in the first inning Sunday. Schwarber’s homer, off Pirates righty Braxton Ashcraft, clocked an exit velocity of 108.7 mph off the bat.

    “Just trying to simplify, first at-bat, and just happened to get a good piece of it,” Schwarber said. “Good first day overall, but nice getting back in a little bit of competitive setting.”

    Olympic hockey drama left Phillies spellbound. Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper hope to join baseball’s fun in the ’28 Games.

    Sunday’s 4-3 loss to the Pirates marked the spring debuts of Schwarber, Bryce Harper, Alec Bohm, Bryson Stott, Brandon Marsh, and J.T. Realmuto.

    Manager Rob Thomson said there is a plan, similar to last spring, for Schwarber to eventually get reps at first base and left field to keep his skills there sharp in case he’s needed in the field. At the moment, though, the focus is on getting his bat ready for the World Baseball Classic, where he will represent Team USA. He was designated hitter Sunday and went 1-for-2 with a hit by pitch.

    With one game under his belt, Schwarber already has half as many homers as he did last spring, when he hit two home runs in 17 Grapefruit League games. He said he didn’t start swinging any earlier this offseason with the WBC on the horizon, but instead mainly focused on getting his body in shape.

    Kyle Schwarber celebrates his solo home run in the Phillies dugout during the first inning against the Pirates.

    “I just found that just over the course of time that more quality things that I do don’t really need as much time,” Schwarber said. “I feel like you want to get a good, solid foundation of working out and working, getting your body going more, before you just start going out there and swinging right away. So get that set, and then get the swinging in the offseason. But I don’t try to overthink it too much.”

    Shortstop prospect Aidan Miller has not played in the Phillies’ first two Grapefruit League games and will not travel to the East coast of Florida for their next two road games because of a sore back. Thomson said the Phillies are being “super cautious” with Miller, and he is getting treatment to calm down the soreness.

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    “Just came in one day and it was sore,” Thomson said. “He took live BP, he got hit by a pitch, but wasn’t in the back, so I don’t know whether he jarred it or did something trying to get out of the way.”

    Who stood out: Bohm laced a double to center field in the first inning. Realmuto and Stott also collected hits.

    “Bohmer looked good,” Thomson said. “Stung the ball pretty good, and and Bohmer during all our BPs, he swung the bat really well. It’s good to see.”

    Infield prospect Carson DeMartini homered in the sixth inning.

    On the mound: It was a bullpen game for the Phillies. Trevor Richards, Zach Pop, Kyle Backhus, Tim Mayza, and Génesis Cabrera each pitched an inning, and each recorded at least one strikeout.

    Jonathan Hernández pitched the sixth. After inducing two quick outs, he issued three straight walks to load the bases and was removed for minor league call-up Jack Dallas. Pirates prospect Esmerlyn Valdez then crushed a four-seam fastball for a grand slam.

    Backhus, a lefty sidearmer competing for a bullpen spot, retired the side in order in the third. He struck out Jesus Castillo on a sinker that touched 94.3 mph. In 2025, Backhus’ sinker had an average velocity of 91.9 mph.

    Quotable: “He’s been really impressive,” Thomson said of Backhus. “All his bullpens, all the BPs he’s thrown, and then, obviously, in the game today. The velocity is higher than it was last year. There’s not many guys that throw from that slot, so it’s tough to pick up. Slider’s been really good. He’s been really good on lefties. And he’s working on a changeup that could get the right-handers off him. So he’s been really impressive the whole camp.”

    On deck: The Phillies hit the road to West Palm Beach, Fla., to take on the Washington Nationals on Monday (6:05 p.m., Phillies webcast and 94.1 WIP). Alan Rangel will start for the Phillies.

  • Olympic hockey drama left Phillies spellbound. Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper hope to join baseball’s fun in the ’28 Games.

    Olympic hockey drama left Phillies spellbound. Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper hope to join baseball’s fun in the ’28 Games.

    CLEARWATER, Fla. — Bryce Harper couldn’t look away.

    Ninety minutes before the start of the Phillies’ first home spring-training game Sunday, as teammates moved about the clubhouse like commuters through 30th Street Station, Harper stood still in front of a TV and watched the NHL superstars from Team USA receive their gold medals.

    Players skated victory laps with American flags draped over their shoulders. The national anthem played. Cue the team photo.

    And Harper was transfixed.

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    For years, Harper has advocated for Major League Baseball to do what the NHL does and stop the season so that the best players in the world can compete in the Olympics. Its next chance will come in Los Angeles in 2028, when baseball will return as a medal sport after an eight-year hiatus.

    What would a global best-on-best baseball tournament look like?

    Exactly what the world just witnessed between the U.S. and Canada in what Phillies manager/proud Canadian Rob Thomson described as “one of the best games you’ll ever see.”

    It was so good that the Phillies put it on the new 3,200-square-foot LED video board at BayCare Ballpark as they took batting practice during the third period and overtime. Kyle Schwarber did an interview from the third-base dugout so he would be able to keep one eye on the action.

    Phillies second baseman Bryson Stott watches the U.S.-Canada Olympic gold medal game as he warms up Sunday in Clearwater, Fla.

    “Yeah, that was awesome,” Schwarber said. “That was amazing. Probably one of the more exciting hockey games in a long time. I don’t get to watch hockey that much, but that will probably get me back into watching a lot more.”

    Which is precisely why MLB needs to follow the NHL’s lead.

    Harper and Schwarber are among 10 Phillies who will leave camp Saturday to join their respective countries’ delegations for the World Baseball Classic. For two weeks in March, national pride will be at stake.

    And players seem to be taking the WBC as seriously as ever.

    Since the tournament’s inception in 2006, Team USA has had difficulty recruiting the best pitchers, in particular, to compete in an international exhibition in the middle of spring training. But this time, both reigning Cy Young Award winners — the Pirates’ Paul Skenes and Tigers’ Tarik Skubal — signed on to wear stars and stripes.

    Justin Crawford is ready to show he can take ‘control’ in the Phillies outfield

    Shohei Ohtani, who famously struck out Mike Trout to end the last WBC in 2023, will return to lead Japan, albeit only as a hitter. The Dominican Republic’s lineup is loaded, with Juan Soto, Manny Machado, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Julio Rodríguez, and Fernando Tatis Jr. Venezuela, Mexico, and Puerto Rico are stacked, too.

    “This is our time to represent our country,” Schwarber said. “It gives you that motivation, you know? Being that we’re going to be heading into that and knowing what to expect. Obviously we’re not Olympians. But it’s our mini-Olympics. Right?”

    Sure. And players will compete with intensity. Anyone who thinks it doesn’t mean much to the players should hear Schwarber talk about what he did with his silver medal in 2023.

    “I don’t know where it’s at,” he said. “You only probably care about the gold one. You don’t want to get the second-place one.”

    Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber (right) celebrates his solo home run with Bryce Harper on Sunday.

    But because of when the WBC is contested, there will be pitch limits and other health-related restrictions. At training camps in Florida and Arizona, teams will cross their fingers and toes that their players return intact.

    If anything, then, the WBC is closer to hockey’s 4 Nations Face-Off, last February’s riveting tournament that was still only the appetizer to the main course in Milan.

    Still, as international competitions go, it’s the best baseball has.

    Unless …

    “I know Bryce has been very outspoken about it, and I think [the Olympics] would be great for us,” Schwarber said. “We all grew up watching the Olympics and being kids and just tuning into all different kinds of events. Back in the day, the TV dinners, go get the pull-out tray, throw it on the couch, all the family sitting down at night. We’re watching the Olympics. We’re watching the gymnasts, the swimming, the diving. Those were all big ones. I loved watching the sprinters run.

    “It’d just be great for our game in general, to where you go to the Olympics and it’s worldwide. Everyone would see it, and it might reach a broader audience than just some countries that are really in tune to it.”

    The Phillies’ Trea Turner was still the fastest man in the league at 32. And it’s not due just to ‘genetics.’

    But would the players buy in? Part of what makes Olympic hockey such a draw is the passion exhibited by the players, especially among the Americans and Canadians, many of whom put aside their day jobs as teammates in the NHL to pound on one another on an international stage.

    “It’d be a no-doubter for a lot of guys,” said Schwarber, who played for Team USA in college. “When they ask you, you’re like, ‘Yeah, absolutely.’ And the cool thing for us is we have so many different cultures in our game that everyone’s going to separate from the [MLB] organization side of things and go to the country side.

    “I know, if I’m freaking 50 and they go, ‘Hey,’ I’ll be like, ‘Yes.’ I might be playing softball by then, but I’d say yes.”

    Harper was among the first players to commit to Team USA for the WBC in 2023 but had to withdraw after having elbow surgery in the preceding offseason. He hasn’t played for his country since he was a teenager.

    Kyle Schwarber hits a solo home run for the Phillies in the first inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

    “I can’t wait,” Harper said the other day. “Representing your country, there’s nothing better. Nothing better. The feeling of putting ‘USA’ on your chest and playing for something so much bigger than yourself, representing your whole country, there’s nothing greater.

    “And having Aaron Judge hit behind me is going to be a lot of fun, as well.”

    When Harper at last turned away from the television Sunday morning and walked to his locker, he politely declined to talk about the game. He appeared emotional, especially after watching Team USA bring two of the late Johnny Gaudreau’s children, Noa and Johnny Jr., onto the ice as part of the celebration.

    Watching it all, Harper surely must have thought about the possibility of 2028 in Los Angeles.

    “We’ll see,” he said.

    But anyone could plainly see what it would mean for baseball to have the best players in the world in the next Olympics.

  • Justin Crawford is ready to show he can take ‘control’ in the Phillies outfield

    Justin Crawford is ready to show he can take ‘control’ in the Phillies outfield

    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.’”

    John Middleton on Phillies’ high payroll amid looming labor war, Dave Dombrowski-Bryce Harper saga, and more

    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 Blue Jays on Saturday in Dunedin, Fla.

    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.

    Phillies roster questions going into the first spring game: Fifth starter, bullpen picture, and more

    “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.”

    The Phillies’ Trea Turner was still the fastest man in the league at 32. And it’s not due just to ‘genetics.’

    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 sign 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.”

  • Otto Kemp ‘felt pretty comfortable’ in left field in Phillies’ spring opener

    Otto Kemp ‘felt pretty comfortable’ in left field in Phillies’ spring opener

    DUNEDIN, Fla. — Before Otto Kemp started in left field on Saturday, Rob Thomson warned him about his nickname there at Toronto’s TD Ballpark: “Satan’s Corner.”

    The Phillies manager has seen many misplays in that part of the outfield, because of a combination of the wind, the sun, and the typically cloudless sky above Dunedin.

    “I didn’t want to ask right before I started about why he called it that,” Kemp said. “But I felt pretty comfortable out there.”

    Kemp didn’t get a ton of action in the spring opener — a 3-0 Phillies loss to the Blue Jays on Saturday — and caught the only fly ball hit his way in the first inning. But his outfield education this spring will continue to be put to the test, as Kemp gets more innings in left field during Grapefruit League games.

    Q&A: John Middleton on Phillies’ high payroll amid looming labor war, Dave Dombrowski-Bryce Harper saga, and more

    The 26-year-old learned left field on the fly last season in the majors, after being an infielder throughout the minor leagues. The Phillies believe that Kemp could be a platoon bat in left field for Brandon Marsh and want him to get as many reps as possible.

    Throughout camp, Kemp has been juggling keeping his infield skills sharp with a lot of additional work on his outfield fundamentals, particularly his footwork. He works with infield coach Bobby Dickerson in the morning, and then works with outfield coach Paco Figueroa for most of the day after that.

    “Seeing the ball off the bat and just trying to power shag as much as I can,” Kemp said. “Getting my reads down and getting my first step right. … I feel like I’ve worked a lot already, and it’s been great work so far. So I’m starting to feel really comfortable out there.”

    Justin Crawford walks into the dugout for the spring training game against the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday.

    On Saturday, Kemp also shared the outfield with Justin Crawford, who started in center and had a 2-for-3 day at the plate.

    “He’s a dynamic player, and he covers a lot of ground, so it’s fun to just be out there,” Kemp said. “And I feel closer to him now being in the outfield, because I’ve been in the infield pretty much the entire time throughout our minor league career. So it’s fun to kind of work a little bit more side-by-side with him, and even learn from him. He’s a great outfielder. He tracks balls down better than I’ve seen a lot of people do.”

    Cristopher Sánchez among pitchers impressing Phillies; Justin Crawford to start in spring opener

    Who stood out: Crawford led off the game with a double to center field off Toronto lefty Eric Lauer, after hitting a laser down the right field line that just stayed foul earlier in the plate appearance. He also singled in the fifth inning and made several solid defensive plays.

    “Definitely feels good getting the first one in the first at-bat like that,” Crawford said. “So it’s kind of nice to be able to get that early and then just trying to hopefully build off of that.”

    Keaton Anthony made a diving stop at first base, and was a part of three double plays turned by the Phillies infield.

    Bryse Wilson allowed three hits, a walk, and zero runs in two innings of work on Saturday.

    On the mound: Bryse Wilson pitched two innings for the Phillies, allowing three hits, a walk, and zero runs.

    Zach McCambley, a Rule 5 pick this offseason who is in competition for the final two bullpen spots, sidestepped a walk to Ernie Clement for a scoreless inning. He induced a groundout from Andrés Giménez and a lineout from Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

    “He’s got a good arm,” Thomson said of McCambley. “He’s working on cutter today, so it got away from him a little bit. But the slider, he can spin it, the fastball is really good and it plays. I like the kid.”

    Three Phillies starters are breaking their routine to pitch in the WBC during spring training

    Max Lazar tossed a scoreless frame. Seth Johnson and Nolan Hoffman each pitched an inning, and both gave up a home run.

    Quotable: “He acts like a like a professional. He acts like he deserves to be here,” Thomson said of Crawford.

    On deck: The Phillies return to BayCare Ballpark Sunday for their spring home opener against the Pirates (1:05 p.m., NBCSP).

  • Q&A: John Middleton on Phillies’ high payroll amid looming labor war, Dave Dombrowski-Bryce Harper saga, and more

    Q&A: John Middleton on Phillies’ high payroll amid looming labor war, Dave Dombrowski-Bryce Harper saga, and more

    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 what the NFL, NBA, and NHL have; 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.

    Phillies roster questions going into the first spring game: Fifth starter, bullpen picture, and more

    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.

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    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. Cristopher Sánchez said Wegner later admitted to him 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.

    The Phillies’ Trea Turner was still the fastest man in the league at 32. And it’s not due just to ‘genetics.’

    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.

    Bryce Harper says Dave Dombrowski’s ‘not elite’ comment is ‘kind of wild to me still’
    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.

  • Bryce Harper goes to the Jersey Shore boardwalk with his new ‘Mad House’ cleats

    Bryce Harper goes to the Jersey Shore boardwalk with his new ‘Mad House’ cleats

    Under the boardwalk, down by the sea. That’s where Bryce Harper wants to be, apparently.

    Harper’s newest cleats — the Under Armour Harper 10 “Mad House” — pay homage to the Jersey Shore, and unlike his previous colorful, locally-inspired cleats, these are not player exclusives (PE), meaning anyone can buy the $130 cleats.

    With a hyper violet base and slime-green studs that resemble a boardwalk funhouse, the cleats are “inspired by Bryce’s love for spending time at the Jersey Shore during the offseason early on in his career,” Under Armour said.

    On Thursday, Harper posted a short promotional video for the new kicks. Inside the funhouse’s skull entrance, the Harper 10s are displayed in the middle of a spiraling, mirror maze — akin to one that can be found on the Wildwood boardwalk.

    The latest edition of Bryce Harper 10s, “Mad House,” are a nod to boardwalk funhouses.

    Harper has not gone on the record to claim one shore town in particular. In July 2022, while rehabbing his broken thumb, he spent time in Stone Harbor, taking photos with fans in a Wawa. That same month, he posed with restaurant workers at Uncle Bill’s Pancake House in Ocean City.

    The release of the “Mad House” cleats comes after Harper and Under Armour reached a contract extension on Jan. 13. Under Armour initially signed Harper in 2011. In 2016, they awarded him with what was then the largest endorsement deal in MLB history.

    Previously, Harper has made his love for the Phanatic known through apparel. Last year, Harper and Under Armour released a pair of green, fuzzy Harper 3s inspired by the Phillies mascot, equipped with insoles displaying caricatures of Harper and the Phanatic. But that was hardly the first time Harper’s cleats have paid tribute to the Phanatic — he also wore custom Phanatic cleats during his first game as a Phillie in 2019, and again during the team’s home opener in 2020, this time featuring Swarovski crystals.

    Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper’s Wawa themed spikes against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday, June 21, 2024 in Philadelphia.

    It’s also not the only way Harper’s shown his love of Philly culture. In 2024, Harper teamed up with Wawa for his “Gottahava Harper” PE cleats, which he liked so much that he was willing to pay a fine to wear them.

    “Obviously I understand why,” he told Front Office Sports, “but also I think kids love it.”