February 15, 2024
Dave Nelson/USA TODAY Sports
Phillies pitchers warmup for their first workout of spring training down in Clearwater.
Pitchers and catchers are down in Clearwater. The grass is green, mitts are popping, baseball is here again.
Another Phillies season is upon us, and another one with sky-high expectations, but still a bit go before we're fully there.
Here's what they're saying about the Phils until then...
After re-upping Aaron Nola, and barring any big, albeit conservative plays for major free agents like Yoshinobu Yamamoto over the winter, the Phillies' most pressing matter immediately became working out an extension for ace Zack Wheeler.
It might not get done by Opening Day, but the Phillies and his agent are working on it, Wheeler told the media Wednesday down in Clearwater, and the outlook for a deal looks good.
The Phillies and Wheeler’s agent are talking about a contract extension, Wheeler confirmed Wednesday afternoon at BayCare Ballpark. Both parties share some level of optimism that an agreement will be reached before Opening Day. It is the Phillies’ No. 1 priority, sources said.
“Hopefully, it does [happen],” Wheeler said, following the Phillies’ first pitchers and catchers workout. “I love it here. We’re happy here. It’s a good organization. We’re winning. All things are looking great and right. So, I’d love to be here.”
Wheeler said he has set no deadline to strike a deal. Last spring, Aaron Nola paused contract negotiations once he could not reach an agreement with the Phillies before Opening Day. Nola signed a seven-year, $172 million deal in November.
“I think it could happen any time,” Wheeler said. “Honestly, I don’t know if there are deadlines or anything like that. I’m just leaving that to my agent and the front office to kind of settle out. I’m just kind of hands off and listening. [MLB.com]
The Phillies are entering the spring appearing mostly intent to run it back with the roster they have, and big picture, that's probably sound. The club that's here now is good enough to get to the postseason, and there's enough reason to put hope in the idea that Johan Rojas can improve out in center.
But there's no guarantee and the safety net of one more outfielder isn't the worst idea either, especially now that Brandon Marsh is sidelined for a bit.
Phillies president Dave Dombrowski is keeping an eye out, but the fit has to be right, and if it isn't, it's not the end of the world. At least not right now.
They entered the offseason questioning whether Johan Rojas was prepared to hold a full-time job in 2024. But they have not acquired an outfielder this winter — not even on a minor-league contract. The center-field job is Rojas’ to lose in the spring. The Phillies retained Jake Cave and Cristian Pache as their reserve outfielders. If there is a regular-season injury, they would probably fill the hole with a platoon.
The Phillies have continued to engage free-agent outfielders all winter. They have not found a match; Dombrowski said the Marsh surgery does not alter his calculus.
“We’re fine,” Dombrowski said. “We feel like we’re OK. I mean, we’ll see how Rojas does. If something happened, we have the combination of Pache and Cave at this point. That’s where we’ve been all wintertime. We feel comfortable with that. We continue to look at other people, but most of the people we’ve talked to wanted assurances that they’re going to play. Or we don’t think they’re a big upgrade at this point for us.” [The Athletic]
One of the key storylines to focus in on in 2024 is how the Phillies' top pitching prospects will progress. Andrew Painter is out until 2025, but maybe Mick Abel's knocking on the door of a call-up.
The thing is, however, maybe he's not as high of a prospect as he was a year ago.
On Thursday, Keith Law published his list of the Phillies' top 20 prospects for 2024.
Andrew Painter remains at the top, even though he's out rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. Outfield prospect Justin Crawford took the No. 2 spot, and last summer's first-rounder Aidan Miller came in at No. 3. Abel slipped to No. 4, which is still great, but maybe with some concern.
I loved Abel when I first saw him as a high school underclassman at the Future Stars’ event in 2018 in Glendale, Ariz., and wasn’t surprised when he became the first high school pitcher taken in the 2020 draft. I am surprised, though, that he’s had so much trouble with walks as a professional, as he has always had a great delivery and repeats it well enough that he shouldn’t be walking 13.5 percent of the batters he faces.
It’s big-boy stuff; he’ll sit 92-95 mph as a starter and was 97-99 in a one-inning stint at the Futures Game, with a changeup at 91-92 that was easily plus. He’ll show four pitches and the changeup can be plus when he’s starting, just at a slightly lower velocity. He doesn’t have great feel to spin the ball and he can’t land the slider for strikes, while his fastball is out of the zone way too often and doesn’t have huge induced vertical or other characteristics to miss a ton of bats within the zone. I still see him starting, but the results and the specific details of his arsenal point toward a back-end role. [The Athletic]
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