Mar 8, 2025; Clearwater, Florida, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Taijuan Walker (99) throws a pitch against the Toronto Blue Jays in the first inning during spring training at BayCare Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images Nathan Ray Seebeck
The Phillies will open the 2025 season at 4:05 ET against the Washington Nationals on March 27. Here's the second projection of what the 26-man roster will look like on Opening Day.
Whether he's leading off or hitting cleanup, Schwarber is going to provide a major presence in the lineup for the Phillies. Since putting on red pinstripes in 2022, he's clubbed 131 home runs.
Realmuto, like Schwarber, is entering his contract year. It's hard to think that the three-time All-Star won't be back with the Phillies next year, but he certainly has some added reason to show he is still one of the better catchers in baseball this year.
Harper hasn't ruled out ever returning to the outfield, but for now, he's the face of the infield. Last year was his first full season at first base and he posted five defensive runs saved and seven outs above average. He's still fine tuning some of the nuances at first base — like when to defer to the second baseman on a ball hit between the two — but has shown Gold Glove potential at the position.
Defensive metrics are divided on Marsh's work in center field, as he's posted -7 defensive runs saved, but six outs above average in his career. My evaluation: He has the athleticism to play center field but needs to take control of the outfield more when he's at that spot.
Garrett Stubbs has performed well this spring, and is very respected in the organization. But he has a remaining minor-league option, and Marchán — who probably offers higher upside — doesn't.
With Weston Wilson out with a left oblique strain, the Phillies opt to keep Clemens, who is also out of minor-league options. He's another left-handed hitter, but has been pretty productive when given opportunities over the last two seasons.
The Phillies have experimented with Edmundo Sosa in the outfield this spring. Perhaps he'll see time in either left or center field during the regular season. But Rojas has homered twice in Grapefruit League play and still is an excellent defender. At least until Wilson comes back, he'll probably be on the roster.
There's not really any surprises here. Wheeler and Luzardo each got hit hard during their most recent Spring Training starts. But all that really matters this time of the year is making it out healthy, and come the regular season, this should be one of the best starting rotations in baseball.
There's really only one spot up for grabs here, and as of now, we're going to lean that Walker gets it over other candidates like Nabil Crismatt, John McMillon, Tyler Phillips, Kyle Tyler, Seth Johnson, Koyo Aoyagi, Nick Vespi and Joel Kuhnel.
Walker has a 3.38 ERA over his first 5 1/3 innings of the spring, including striking out three over four innings of work yesterday:
Taijuan Walker today: 3.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 43 pitches (28 strikes).
Touched 93.4 mph. pic.twitter.com/nJnDnjlJw4
The most encouraging thing is that his velocity appears to be back following an offseason doing a weighted ball program. He averaged 91.5 mph in the regular season last year on his fastball, which he's already consistently topping.
Perhaps a pitching-needy team like the New York Yankees will take on like 10% of the $36 million that Walker is owed over the next two seasons and trade for him. If not, though, he's pitching well enough right now to keep around as insurance for if a starter gets injured.
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