With the signings of Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos coupled with the return of Odubel Herrera the position player side of the Phillies roster for opening day is relatively set. If rosters don’t temporarily expand in April there will be 13 position players slots - the starting nine most days figures to be at the least consisting of Hoskins, Segura, Gregorius, Realmuto, Schwarber, Castellanos and Harper with a platoon of Vierling and Herrera in center. I wouldn’t count Alec Bohm as a starting third baseman lock just yet. With the offense this club now has yet the lack of defensive prowess a strong defensive third baseman - a key position - is something that might become even a greater need. Johan Camargo has shown he can play very good defensively at third and both Didi Gregorius and Bryson Stott remain options in sliding over to third. Remember that Pedro Feliz was a key member of the 2008 Phillies providing solid defense at third base. - Just sayin
The backup catcher will come from one of Rafael Marchan, Garrett Stubbs or Donnie Sands. With Camargo set as at least a utility defender it would seem that 11 of the 13 spots are claimed. That leaves Stott, Bohm, Luke Williams, Nick Maton, Adam Haseley, Justin Williams Scott Kingery and Darick Hall in competition for the final two spots - however newly re-signed Ronald Torreyes is the perfect 26th man on a roster and most certainly has a leg up on earning a roster spot.
Starting Nine ( position players and DH ) reviews :
The Phillies on most nights will likely field a starting order consisting of two or three home grown players ( Hoskins, Vierling & Bohm ? ) - how’s that compare to other projected playoff contending clubs in the National League ? Here’s a quick look - Braves ( 3 - until Acuna returns then 4 ), Mets ( 3 ), Dodgers ( 2 ), Giants ( 2 ), Cardinals ( 6 ), Padres ( 2 ) and Brewers ( 1 ) - other than the Cardinals and Braves the homegrown talent ideology seems more of a myth than reality - just sayin 🤷♂️
A new addition in Camp :
Catcher Austin Wynns has been signed to a minor league contract and extended an non roster invitation to big league spring training. He’s 31 years old and was the 10th round draft choice of the Baltimore Orioles in the 2013 draft from Fresno State. He’s played in 115 big league games with the Orioles accumulating 130 AB’s with a career .216 batting average including appearing in 45 games last season. Wynns gets high marks as a defender.
Happy Day, Happy Baseball ⚾️
The beer man is back in action at Baycare BallPark - photo by Cheryl Pursell
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