January 08, 2026
Phillies pitchers and catchers will be reporting to Clearwater in around a month's time — can you believe it?
There are a ton of questions still lingering, most involving the pitchers and catchers, as spring training approaches.
The vast majority of the 26-man roster will be the same as it was last season, however the bullpen underwent a major shakeup this offseason, and the pitching rotation's make up will center around whether Zack Wheeler returns healthy for Opening Day on March 26.
As we do every year, we're going to do our best to make educated guesses as to how things will shake out. Here's our first attempt to guess who will be standing on the first base line for the Phillies on Opening Day 2026:
Catcher (2): J.T. Realmuto, Rafael Marchán
The last time the Phillies wanted to bring back Realmuto, it took a little while. The feeling here, and reporting from most insiders suggests he is still likely to choose the Phillies on a two or three year deal — the last big contract the Phils are expected to hand out before the season. Marchán should beat our Garrett Stubbs to be the backup again.
Infield (6): Bryce Harper, Bryson Stott, Trea Turner, Alec Bohm, Edmundo Sosa, Otto Kemp
This is the same infield — bench and all — as the Phillies had last season. If Realmuto signs, there is really no reason to expect the Phillies will trade away Bohm or Stott. Sosa remains their top utility man, while Kemp is a player with potential whom the Phillies front office remains high on.
Outfield (4): Brandon Marsh, Adolis Garcia, Justin Crawford, Nick Castellanos
Would the Phillies really just cut Castellanos for absolutely nothing? He is due $20 million and unless another team is willing to take (some of) that on, he's getting paid by Philadelphia either way. If they do, you can replace that spot with Johan Rojas. It's kind of an embarrassment of riches here that could get less murky after spring training. The Phillies hope Crawford will play every day but he still has to earn that spot. Garcia is a reclamation project, but he has too much talent to miss the roster. Playing time could depend on match ups or the hot hand.
Designated hitter (1): Kyle Schwarber
He hit 56 homers last year. He signed a five-year, $150 million contract this offseason. Not much else to say.
Starting pitchers (5): Zack Wheeler, Cris Sánchez, Aaron Nola, Jesús Luzardo, Andrew Painter
I am going to take the extreme optimistic approach here, having recently heard that Wheeler is in Philly throwing as he rehabs from surgery last fall. Sánchez was the Cy Young runner-up, Nola got hot toward the end of the season and Luzardo is as solid as it gets at the four-spot. Painter, like Crawford, has to show he has it in the spring, if not there are a bevy of other options for the final rotation spot, including Taijuan Walker.
Relief pitchers (8): Johan Duran, Orion Kerkering, José Alvarado, Brad Keller, Tanner Banks, Jonathan Bowlan, Zach McCambley, Zack Pop
Just because this is the Opening Day bullpen doesn't mean it will be the bullpen for the majority of the regular season. The first five are pretty set, plus Bowlan who is a solid arm the team received in the Matt Strahm trade. The final two spots are seemingly up for grabs, but McCambley and Pop will probably have the first right of refusal — they each would be lost to other teams if they don't make the major league roster. McCambley was a Rule 5 draft choice while Pop is out of minor league options. If those two hurlers are half decent in spring training they'll probably have the first look at a bullpen spot. Whether they can hold onto it is the bigger question. As for Walker, if Wheeler starts the season on the IL he'll be on the team. Otherwise, he might be moved in the spring after a better showing in 2025.
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