February 21, 2026
As much as it seems like the Phillies are running it back for 2026 — and in many ways they are — they did say goodbye to a lot of players over the past year.
And as the new season approaches and progresses, it'll be natural to wonder whether the Phillies' front office made the right decisions on personnel. Last season, for example, the Phils let Carlos Estévez and Jeff Hoffman walk in the offseason and turned to Jordan Romano. It was not a good decision at all — but it did lead to the squad eventually needing to trade for Jhoan Duran, who has the potential to be one of the best closers in team history.
Will the Phils' trade of Matt Strahm come back to haunt them? What about not bringing back Harrison Bader? Here's a look at where 13 key contributors from the 2025 campaign will be playing in 2026:
Ranger Suárez, Red Sox
There wasn't much optimism that the Phillies would be able to bring back Suárez. The rotation is pretty packed already, and the payroll is pretty inflated. Fans can feel a little luck in that the homegrown fan favorite settled in Boston and not on an NL rival — the Mets were rumored to have interest. The Phils travel to Fenway Park in May and will see their old friend early this season.
Matt Strahm, Royals
In what seemed like a bit of a one-sided trade, the Phillies sent Strahm to Kansas City in exchange for Jonathan Bowlan back in December. A look at the two relievers side-by-side:
| Strahm | Bowlan | |
| Age | 34 | 28 |
| MLB IP | 517.1 | 50.0 |
| ERA | 3.36 | 4.32 |
| WHIP | 1.104 | 1.360 |
| Salary | $7.5m | $780k |
You can see why the Phillies made the move, bolded above.
Nick Castellanos, Padres
After the Phillies swallowed nearly all $20 million from cutting Casty (the Padres are paying him $1.6 million so there is some relief there), the Padres quickly added him to their roster where he actually played first base in the team's spring training opener. The 33-year-old has an opportunity to make the team regret tossing him aside, but after playing the literal worst outfield defense in the majors last season he'll really need to show major improvement at a new position.
Max Kepler, suspended
The Phillies didn't get a lot from Kepler in 2025, though he did come on a little with some power down the stretch of the regular season. It was an easy decision for them not to re-sign him, and an easier one when he was suspended 80 games for testing positive for PEDs.
Harrison Bader, Giants
Early in free agency the Phillies snatched up Adolis García, a power hitter looking to bounce back after two down years to a one-year, $10 million deal. Weeks later, Bader — who slashed .305/.361/.463 over his 50 games in Philly after a trade from Minnesota — signed for two years, $20.5 million in San Francisco. If Bader continues to excel in the Bay Area, and García follows in the footsteps of a similar experiment the team took with Kepler last year, this will be a move that is second guessed for a long time.
Walker Buehler, Padres
Many Phillies fans were holding out hope that Buehler — a former ace who's brief stint in South Philly last fall saw him go 3-0 with a 0.66 ERA — might return in a swing role to the pitching staff. He proved he could pitch well again after his second Tommy John surgery. But the Phillies were happy with their depth and the Padres snatched him up last week.
Mick Abel, Twins
The centerpiece of the Duran trade last summer, Abel made two appearances with Minnesota and struggled before getting demoted midseason in 2025. The former Phillies top-3 prospect was spectacular subsequently in Triple-A St. Paul and will be looking to get another chance with the big league club this spring.
Jordan Romano, Angels
After posting a brutal 8.23 ERA and earning $8.5 million over 49 appearances with the Phillies last season, Romano found a job in Los Angeles, where he'll look to turn things around on a modest $2 million one-year deal.
Joe Ross, Diamondbacks
Ross also struggled last year with a 5.12 ERA in 37 games with the Phils. He signed a minor league deal in Arizona.
Kody Clemens, Twins
After playing just seven games in Philly in 2025, the Twins "purchased" Clemens' contract from the Phillies and the lefty hit 19 home runs there. He's looking to stay on the roster in 2026.
Weston Wilson, Orioles
After being designated for assignment, the backup outfielder was claimed by Baltimore last month where he'll try and earn a roster spot in spring training. Wilson hit just .198 in Philadelphia last season.
José Ruiz, DeNA BayStars
The onetime bullpen piece for the Phillies has had a pretty wild last few months. After being designated for assignment by the Phils last June, Ruiz landed in Atlanta where he pitched two games and then was demoted. He was then traded to the Rangers where he pitched very well (a 2.31 ERA) in 20 appearances in Triple-A. As a free agent in December, the Venezuelan signed a $1.2 million deal to pitch for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball League.
David Robertson, retired
The 17-year vet called it a career earlier this offseason.SIGN UP HERE to receive the PhillyVoice Sports newsletter
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