Things are starting to become more crystal clear when it comes to how the Philadelphia Phillies are going to look this season.
After announcing Max Kepler was going to be the starting left fielder, it was then revealed that Brandon Marsh would be moving into an everyday role in center, pushing Johan Rojas to the bench or even Triple-A to start the year.
Now, the starting rotation has been made clear.
Per Tim Kelly of On Pattison, manager Rob Thomson said that it will be offseason acquisition Jesus Luzardo who slots into the No. 2 spot behind Opening Day starter Zack Wheeler, pushing Aaron Nola into the third position with Cristopher Sanchez in the fourth.
That is surprising just based on how established Nola is when it comes to this franchise.
Taken seventh overall in the 2014 draft, the right-hander has become one of the best pitchers in Phillies history, and after he signed a lucrative $172 million contract extension last offseason that spans seven years, that secured his long-term future with the team that drafted him.
But, this is nothing to be alarmed about.
While it’s surprising not to see Nola take the ball in a second game behind Wheeler, Thomson has liked to keep things balanced in both his starting rotation and lineup when it comes to righties and lefties.
How the breakdown looks is also an interesting thing to note.
With the days off after Opening Day and between their home opener and second game of that series, that will allow Philadelphia to use four starters on normal rest for the early part of the year.
This is notable because Rangers Suarez, the projected fifth guy in the rotation, is dealing with a back injury at the moment and will try to work his way into readiness over the final days of camp.
The extended period until he’d be needed gives him for time to ramp up.
If he can’t go, that would likely push Taijuan Walker into the starting rotation, something that would not be popular with this fan base based on how they reacted when he gave up runs in a spring game.
But the headliner coming out of this is Luzardo appears to have surpassed Nola in the rotation order.
Whether or not that will be the case for the entire season or during the playoffs will be seen.
