4 Phillies players who will make the Opening Day roster but will be on thin ice

As spring training officially gets underway for the Philadelphia Phillies, it's that time of year again when some players have already secured roles as the team begins to ramp up activities, while a select few who haven’t locked things down yet will have to battle it out for a roster spot for the upcoming season. Either way, excitement and anticipation will be coming in more ways than one.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at four Phillies who will likely come out on top and ultimately make the 2025 Opening Day roster but will likely be on thin ice as they will need to consistently prove that they are worthy of the spot over the long term.

4 Phillies players who will make the Opening Day roster but will be on thin ice

José Ruiz

When the Phillies signed José Ruiz to a minor league deal back during the 2023-24 offseason, many weren’t expecting too much from the right-handed reliever at the time. After all, Ruiz was coming off two sub-par seasons in which he posted an ERA above 4.60 and WHIP above 1.40 with the Chicago White Sox and Arizona Diamondbacks. Nevertheless, he served as valuable depth for the organization ahead of the 2024 MLB season.

That depth was called into play early last season. Philadelphia selected Ruiz’s contract and promoted him to the big league club as a result of reliever Yunior Marte landing on the IL in early May. From there, Ruiz didn't relinquish his spot on the roster as he gradually ensured his role with the Phillies for the rest of his 2024 campaign.

In the end, he compiled a solid 5-1 record with a 3.71 ERA and 1.33 WHIP, giving up 21 earned runs along with 17 walks and 52 strikeouts in 51 innings of work over 52 relief appearances. However, Ruiz did struggle a bit toward the end of the season when he gave up three runs on nine hits in five innings pitched over his final five appearances. That struggle carried into the postseason as well, where he yielded one run on four hits in just 1 1/3 innings of work in two playoff games as he became a part of the Phillies’ bullpen implosion in the NLDS.

Ruiz’s spot in the bullpen for Opening Day 2025 will likely be his spot to lose. He ranks behind the likes of Jordan Romano, Tanner Banks, José Alvarado, Orion Kerkering, Joe Ross and Matt Strahm in their relief corps depth chart, thus putting him in one of the last two spots in the bullpen along with Taijuan Walker entering spring training.

But with the Phillies picking up some intriguing arms during the offseason, such as Koyo Aoyagi, Devin Sweet and company, Ruiz will need to continue to show consistency coming out of the gate. Otherwise, Philadelphia could turn to its other options sooner than Ruiz might like.