Phillies 2026 Spring Training Discussion

[jimbomill]

Phillies went 3-7 in their last ten exhibition games

How many of those 10 games were without the WBC participants?

[zambonir]

Six. Starting pitchers in a few of those were Mayza and King. Garrett Stubbs was the lead-off hitter and 3B in one of them.

But they did finish the season, post-WBC, 0-3-1.

[julio]

The rule of thumb I usually use is that in the last two ST games, you start to see the teams which start the season.

The rosters, sure. But that's still just two games.

Yep. Sample size of... two. Making any inference from a sample size of two...

Well, let's just say that statisticians would not go there. Ever. Politicians, on the other hand...

[andyb]

The trend of veterans not going to road games has really downgraded any sort of value in Spring results that might have existed decades ago. And even the starters are not going on a road trip when they can just do a simulated game or face minor leaguers late in camp. Now if we are not winning the home games in the second half of camp - that could be an issue.

[Jazzhead]

Why rush him?

I agree. Wheeler's a vet who listens to his doc and his body. The key is to have a fully effective Wheeler, and April is the perfect time for Walker and Nola to step up and Painter to get a sustained opportunity to sink or swim.

What's the betting line on Wheeler getting back before the TSA agents do?

[zambonir]

Nobody's rushing him (as Matt already noted). He is a month behind everybody else. That month is over (his first bullpen in Clearwater was February 26). Gelb merely speculated it could be a little sooner because you only make four starts in spring training (that's what Luzardo and Painter did, while Sanchez and Nola had 2 in WBC and 2 in ST). He was counting yesterday's sim game as one of them, but even if you don't, he could be ready to go by April 15 (and that's with more rest than he prefers between starts too).

The lost weight does seem like a bit of a wild card. Not sure anything can be done about that. But how he actually looks in these next three starts will tell them whether he needs more time. I wonder if he'll also pitch in Reading.

[Philsmania]

Just wondering, though we already know who will be on the Opening Day roster, when do MLB teams have to make it officially official? I note that on the Phillies website, we still have Stubbs but no Crawford. Do the final moves have to be made by Thursday morning?

[zambonir]

Yeah, I don't think it's different from any other day, Thursday morning for the 26-man. But they'll probably get the 40-man in order (i.e. trade or DFA Stubbs and add Crawford) tomorrow. Moore and Mayza already added following their opt-outs/re-signing.

[BostonRoss]

I wouldn’t be averse to Wheeler taking a break sometime over the summer, if he seems to need it, and the Phillies are on track to get to the postseason.

[zambonir]

Yeah as much as the Phillies value their rotation, and horses, I wonder if they are also looking at the Dodgers Way after seeing it up close last year.

Baseball’s math problem: Filling all those innings in an era when less is more...

The Los Angeles Dodgers thumped the Reds in their Wild Card Series last fall, getting seven sharp innings from Blake Snell in the opener. The Dodgers pay Snell more than $36 million a year, with no illusions that he will make 30 starts. He is best at a lower volume, and they slow-played his workload all year — and Tyler Glasnow’s — to get peak performance in October.

“Our players understand the organization’s (belief that) the most important thing is being ready for the stretch run, getting to the postseason and through the postseason,” manager Dave Roberts said.

[Callison]

The talent-heavy LAD may be the only team willing and able to pay a starting pitcher $36M for part of a season to keep him healthy for the playoffs. Seems like they even paid that for a long while that he was on the DL, too. Knew what they were doing from day one.

The Phils surely will be way careful with Wheeler - may be forced to limit his starts. The Phils and fans are just hoping they get back the same Wheeler that they knew. There will be a huge collective sigh of relief when he shows he's back. If he's really healthy, we know he'll be telling the team when he wants to start and expect to be heard... just like things used to be.

IMHO, the Phils' hitting does not look nearly ready for the season. Could have slow start.

Many like the recent lineup going Turner, Schwarber, Harper, Bohm... IMHO, it could be better Stott, Turner, Harper, Schwarber, Bohm. Stott has earned this second chance. Why not, Rob? IMHO Bohm is out of place at 4, belongs at 5. Too slow for 2.

The streaming pirates are just getting started. I notice they've bagged to SF-Yanks opener. The OPENER!!!

[zambonir]

Nothing to see here....

https://www.mlb.com/phillies/news/zack-wheeler-throws-simulated-game-trending-toward-april-return

Wheeler could make three or four starts for the IronPigs before joining the rotation next month.

“Four-ish, give or take,” Wheeler said.

Wheeler will have more boxes to check over the next few weeks. He lost weight immediately following his surgery in September because he needed to follow a strict diet. He said he’s still down about 10 pounds from the 205 he pitched at last season.

He’ll try to get that back, but he’s pitched lighter in the past.

“I pitched at 185 when I was with the Mets and I did well and I threw just as hard,” he said.

Regardless of his weight, the Phillies are as optimistic as ever that Wheeler will not only return to the Phillies’ rotation next month, but return to his Cy Young-caliber form.

“I’m very confident,” Thomson said. “His command has been normal. The velocity is normal for this time of Spring Training for him. I don’t have any reason to not be confident.”

[VoteForKalas]

Phillies have invested $540M on 4 starting pitchers: Wheeler, Nola, Luzardo and now Sanchez.

As the immortal color commentator from Dodgeball stated: Bold strategy, Cotton, let's see if it pays off.

[allentown]

It works because Wheeler gone soon, Painter cheap, and Casty salary gone after this year. I also think the Sanchez contract is a strong indication the Phillies ownership and DD aren't expecting the lux cap to become a hard cap that would bother Phillies preferred future spending (perhaps something that limits Dodgers and Mets a bit) or the tax rate to be bumped up drastically. The Sanchez contract also a bet that baseball TV revenue will rise.

[Philsmania]

It works because Wheeler gone soon, Painter cheap, and Casty salary gone after this year. I also think the Sanchez contract is a strong indication the Phillies ownership and DD aren't expecting the lux cap to become a hard cap that would bother Phillies preferred future spending (perhaps something that limits Dodgers and Mets a bit) or the tax rate to be bumped up drastically. The Sanchez contract also a bet that baseball TV revenue will rise.

Walker off the books after this season as well.

[Philsmania]

As hard as it may be to believe, per Cots, the Yankees' payroll is only $16.5 million more than ours. For generations, we've always had to presume that they were a stratosphere ahead of us.

[zambonir]

The Yankees aren't the Yankees anymore under this generation. It's the Mets and Dodgers that set the pace. Luckily not successfully so far in the Mets' case.

[Philsmania]

The Yankees aren't the Yankees anymore under this generation. It's the Mets and Dodgers that set the pace. Luckily not successfully so far in the Mets' case.

The Mets and Dodgers are fueled by vast financial empires. Same with the Phillies though to a lesser extent. I get the sense that the Yankees' wealth, though significant, is all tied up in the Yankees. I'm not saying it will happen but it wouldn't be surprising if the Steinbrenners start making overtures to sovereign wealth investors on the Arabian Peninsula.

[Austinfan]

Sanchez is a huge bargain, I think $17M AVV over 7 years. If he was a FA, $30+M.
Even if he falters, would still be a bargain as a 3/4 down the road.
Cash flow is unlikely to be a problem when they have to pay $30M.

[andyb]

Sanchez really is not a bargain because the Phillies are taking all of the risk. And adding more guaranteed money that is above those $30 million years and of course contingent on health in an industry where Tommy John surgery is common.

Does not mean it is an awful deal as we have money and might as well use it. But it really is not a bargain when we are potentially adding over $100 million for only 2 more guaranteed years.