The Philadelphia Phillies final Opening Day roster decisions remain murky with a little over a week to go as spring training play begins to wind down. With roster battles playing out at the backup catcher position between Garrett Stubbs and Rafael Marchán, and a handful of pitchers all vying for the final spot in the bullpen, it remains unclear who will make the final cut ahead of the season opener against the Washington Nationals on March 27.
With only eight games left on the Phillies’ spring training schedule, this is usually a time of high anxiety for veteran players in camp lacking minor league options, non-roster invitees, and young prospects looking to crack their first MLB roster. There’s little doubt that Phillies manager Rob Thomson is close to having some tough conversations with a handful of names Phillies fans have gotten used to over the past couple of seasons.
And when the dust finally settles early next week after Opening Day rosters are announced, there’s a good chance one of last summer’s key contributors could be on the outside looking for a roster spot.
Tyler Phillips is out of options and waits in roster limbo ahead of Phillies’ Opening Day
It’s no secret that the fifth spot in the rotation was a major weakness last season. The team lost Spencer Turnbull to a lat injury in June and struggled with Taijuan Walker putting together one of the worst seasons by a Phillies pitcher in 30 seasons. The Phillies tried to find lightning in a bottle by turning to minor league depth options like Michael Mercardo and Tyler Phillips to start games by the middle of summer. The end results were clearly not what Thomson or the Phillies front office was looking for.
Phillies fans certainly enjoyed the story of Phillips, a right-handed pitcher and native of nearby Pennsauken, New Jersey, who joined his childhood team’s rotation and got off to a great start before falling off considerably and posting a 4-1 record with a 6.87 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP over seven starts and eight total appearances. While Phillips showed some success pitching at the MLB level last summer, his roster spot was far from guaranteed entering spring training camp.
Because Phillips is one of a handful of players invited to spring training lacking a minor league option, the 27-year-old former Texas Rangers prospect has found himself in a battle for the last remaining spot in the bullpen with the likes of offseason minor league signing Nabil Crismatt and hard-throwing trade acquisition Devin Sweet, who’s currently the favorite to land the final roster spot with one week remaining in Florida.
That being said, Phillips has had mixed results during his five appearances this spring and is currently sporting a rough-looking record of 0-3 with a 9.39 ERA, while also allowing eight hits, eight earned runs, seven walks and a concerning 1.96 WHIP over 7 2/3 innings. It’s safe to say those numbers won’t be helpful to his cause if the final bullpen roster spot comes down to numbers.
But injuries and roster moves could certainly change Phillips’ fortunes, especially if Matt Strahm’s recovery from a recent bout with shoulder soreness requires an Opening Day IL stint. The loss of Strahm would open up two spots in the bullpen, and Phillips would likely be a consideration.
It will also be interesting to see what the team decides to do with Walker. Despite posting better-than-expected spring training numbers (1-0, 3.89 ERA) across three starts and 9 1/3 innings, the Phillies could try to sell high on the controversial former starter who is still owed a hefty $36 million with two years remaining on his current contract.
With teams like the New York Yankees and Miami Marlins possibly in need of starting pitching, trading Walker could open up some room for pitchers currently on the bubble, like Phillips, to find a way into the Phillies’ bullpen mix on Opening Day. But any deal for Walker would probably require the Phillies to pay a large portion of Walker’s remaining salary, and so far, there are no hints that a trade of this type has even been discussed.
