January 23, 2026
Nathan Ray Seebeck/Imagn Images
The Phillies have a plan for Justin Crawford. He just needs to do his part.
The ball's rolling toward spring training in Clearwater in a few weeks, and toward prospect Justin Crawford taking one of the Phillies' starting outfield spots.
Crawford, the Phillies' 17th overall pick from the 2022 draft, is the leading name on the list on non-roster spring training invites that the club released Friday. The list also includes fellow top prospects and former first-round picks Aidan Miller (27th overall in 2023) and Dante Nori (27th overall in 2024).
The Phillies invited 27 non-roster players to spring training in total. They are as follows...
Infielders: Keaton Anthony, Christian Cairo, Carson DeMartini, Aroon Escobar, Aidan Miller, Liover Peguero, Felix Reyes, Bryan Rincon, José Rodríguez.
Outfielders: Dylan Campbell, Justin Crawford, Bryan De La Cruz, Dante Nori.
Catchers: Kehden Hettiger, Mark Kolozsvary, Paul McIntosh, René Pinto, Caleb Ricketts.
Left-handed pitchers: Génesis Cabrera, Tucker Davidson, Tim Mayza, Andrew Walling.
Right-handed pitchers: Andrew Bechtold, Jonathan Hernández, Michael Mercado, Trevor Richards, Bryse Wilson.
Phillies president Dave Dombrowski, along with manager Rob Thomson, have spoken highly of Crawford all offseason and have serious hopes that the 22-year-old will come into the spring and earn his place in filling out the outfield between him, Brandon Marsh, and one-year signing Adolis García.
But of course, he does have to earn it first.
Miller, the Phillies' top infield prospect, could stand to make some noise this spring, too, if his trajectory keeps up.
The 21-year-old righty bat made it up to Triple-A Lehigh Valley before the end of last season, and slashed .333/.514/.519 in a small eight-game sample size.
At the least, he might just put a little bit of heat on Alec Bohm's heels amid a Phillies' lineup that fans are only getting more demanding for something different out of.
Crawford slashed .334/.411/.452 in a full season with the IronPigs last season, and out of any invite, has the most direct and open path to earning a major league job.
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