Phillies, Dombrowski will continue to pursue pitching depth

The Philadelphia Phillies Opening Day roster is finalized, with just hours remaining until first pitch against the division-rival Atlanta Braves Thursday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park.

Exactly half of the 26-man roster consists of pitchers, including five starters — Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler, Zach Eflin, Matt Moore and Chase Anderson — and eight relievers — Jose Alvarado, Archie Bradley, Connor Brogdon, Sam Coonrod, David Hale, Brandon Kintzler, Hector Neris, and Vince Velasquez.

Drawing up the bullpen, in particular, was no easy task for Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, as Spencer Howard, JoJo Romero, and Ranger Suarez were among the pitchers excluded and will begin the season at the alternate training site in Lehigh Valley.

Despite their roster crunch, the Phillies will continue to pursue pitching depth.

Although it seems the Phillies have plenty of arms “waiting in the wings,” in case one of their starters or relievers goes down due to injury, Dombrowski told reporters on Tuesday that the team can never have enough pitching depth.

“You never have enough of it. I’ve been in positions where you get decimated, so you always want more,” he said. “I like the depth close to the big-league level, when you start talking about how we put our club together.”

Dombrowski continued that while he thinks the Phillies have some level of depth, if they get “too deep,” he will start having concern. “It’s something we will continue to pursue if we can find more, but I think overall we are OK,” he said. “We are not great, but we are OK. Hopefully, we just won’t be burdened with a bunch of injuries at one time.”

Dave Dombrowski discusses decision to leave JoJo Romero off 26-man roster.

The Phillies ultimately chose Hale over Romero because manager Joe Girardi prefers having another long reliever to complement Velasquez. Also, had they sent Hale down, Dombrowski noted, the team would have lost the right-hander because he likely would not have cleared waivers.

“[Hale] has the ability to pitch multiple innings, which not many of our guys do,” Dombrowski said. “So, for having him on the club, it helps the depth.”

The Phillies also had to get creative when adding Kintzler, infielder Ronald Torreyes, and outfielder Matt Joyce to their 40- and 26-man rosters. Given the trio were non-roster invitees, corresponding moves were necessary.

The Phillies wound up releasing infielder C.J. Chatham (although they may re-sign him) and placing outfielder Simon Muzziotti on the restricted list (visa issues). The third corresponding move has yet to be announced.

It feels great to have regular season baseball back, with fans in attendance.