Phillies Pitchers and Catchers Report for Spring Training Today!
By John Town
Phillies baseball is officially back as pitchers and catchers officially report for spring training in Clearwater today – even though many have been there.
The wait for Phillies season is finally over as pitchers and catchers officially report for spring training workouts today. The first full team workout will be this Friday, Feb. 17.
Several Phils players have been in Clearwater for some time now. Ryan Lawrence of Philly Voice shared some scenes from spring training Monday. Pitchers Jeremy Hellickson, Aaron Nola, Zach Eflin, Alec Asher and Jerad Eickhoff all made an appearance along with catcher Cameron Rupp.
Even though the other position players are not required to be in Clearwater until later this week, several are already there. Lawrence said Maikel Franco, Roman Quinn, Michael Saunders, Tommy Joseph, Dylan Cozens, and Rhys Hoskins are all there along with several others.
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Lawrence shared one picture of Hoskins taking batting practice with former manager and special instructor Charlie Manuel looking on. Seeing a key part from the last era of Philadelphia baseball survey a potential piece of the next era just brings back even more baseball excitement.
Philadelphia has 62 players opening spring training with them. The team’s roster is mostly set, but there are a few areas open for competition.
Andrew Knapp is expected to be the backup catcher in 2017, but that is by no means a certainty. Veteran non-roster invitees Ryan Hanigan and Bryan Holaday will both make their case for a spot on the Opening Day roster, and they may just do it with a good spring. While it is hard to see Knapp returning to Triple-A with Jorge Alfaro set to start the year there, the team may opt to carry three catchers with Knapp serving as the backup first baseman as well.
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Jeanmar Gomez held the down closer role in 2016 and manager Pete Mackanin quietly named him the closer for this season as well. However, the veteran Joaquin Benoit and the blooming Hector Neris may force Mackanin to change his mind about the position.
The team also has a few openings on the bench as well. While Aaron Altherr is expected to be the team’s fourth outfielder, the fifth outfielder spot seems open for the taking with Chris Coghlan and Daniel Nava being the two favorites for the role. Beyond Andres Blanco, the team will likely want one more backup infielder on the bench.
That role may go to minor-leaguer Jesmuel Valentin or non-roster invitees like Brock Stassi, Pedro Florimon, or Hector Gomez.
Next: Phillies Spring Training Position Preview: RF
After waiting more than four months, baseball is officially back in the form of spring training, which means Opening Day isn’t too far behind.