Phillies unveil opening day roster with surprising omission
The Phillies have released their 2020 opening day roster
The Phillies have officially released their 2020 opening day roster with 16 pitches, two catchers, five infielders, and six outfielders.
Pitchers Seranthony Dominguez (Tommy John), David Robertson (Tommy John) and Ranger Suarez (COVID) were placed on the injured list and pitcher Robert Stock was designated for assignment.
Scott Kingery, Austin Davis, Tommy Hunter, and Hector Neris were all reinstated from the injured list after several of them tested positive for COVID-19.
Here’s the full Phillies roster:
Catchers: JT Realmuto, Andrew Knapp
Infielders: Rhys Hoskins, Didi Gregorius, Scott Kingery, Jean Segura, Neil Walker
Outfielders: Andrew McCutchen, Adam Haseley, Roman Quinn, Bryce Harper, Jay Bruce, Kyle Garlick
Pitchers: Jake Arrieta, Zach Eflin, Deolis Guerra, Tommy Hunter, Trevor Kelly, Reggie McClain, Hector Neris, Aaron Nola, Nick Pivetta, Ramon Rosso, Vince Velasquez, Zack Wheeler, Jose Alvarez, Austin Davis, Cole Irvin, Adam Morgan
The biggest surprise is that utility man Phil Gosselin did not make the team after many writers dubbed him the MVP of summer camp with multiple hits in the team’s inter/intrasquad games.
Matt Breen adds that Gosselin could still be added before opening day on Friday.
Phil Gosselin is not yet on the Phillies Opening Day roster, but he’s expected to be added before tomorrow’s opener against the Marlins. They currently have 29 players on the 30-man roster.
— Matt Breen (@matt_breen) July 23, 2020
Gosselin was a non-roster invitee, so the Phillies will probably have to make some kind of a move to get him on for Friday’s game against Miami.
Ronald Torreyes is another non-roster invitee who did not make the cut, though he was not a favorite to coming out of camp.
Kyle Garlick was battling several outfielders for the final bench spot, including Nick Williams, Nick Martini, and Mikie Mahtook. I’d expect Williams to head out to Lehigh Valley.
There was no winner declared in the battles for center field or the fifth starter’s job, but it’s believed that Velasquez will be the fifth starter over Pivetta.
In the bullpen, veteran Blake Parker did not earn a spot after pitching for the team last year. Pitching prospects Connor Brogdon and Damon Jones are also some notable omissions from the roster.
Enyel De Los Santos, Mauricio Llovera, JoJo Romero, Cristopher Sanchez were the other notable 40-man pitchers not on the 30-man roster.
Top prospects Alec Bohm and Spencer Howard were assigned to the minor league camp in Lehigh Valley, but they are expected to join the team in a couple of weeks once their service time requirements clear.