The Philadelphia Phillies have had a relatively quiet spring training. With the 26-man Opening Day roster mostly set, save for a few edge-of-the-roster jobs being fought over, there hasn't been much intrigue so far. They've also been lucky this spring with minimal injuries popping up. Bench hopeful Weston Wilson went down with an oblique strain before Grapefruit League games began, but up until this week, all had been otherwise quiet on the injury front in Clearwater.
Unfortunately, the luck ran out when reliever Matt Strahm revealed he's dealing with a shoulder injury. The Phillies shut the left-hander down, and after manager Rob Thomson initially called it a sore shoulder, Strahm himself revealed the extent of his ailment. He has an impingement in his left shoulder, leading to inflammation and a bone bruise. Luckily, an MRI revealed no structural damage, per MLB.com's Todd Zolecki.
Shoulder injury could cost Matt Strahm more than an Opening Day spot
Nobody seems overly concerned at this time, but it's enough to throw Strahm's status for Opening Day into question. Starting the season on the injured list isn't ideal for Strahm, or a Phillies bullpen of which the 2024 All-Star is a key piece. But it's not just a delayed start to the season and his roster spot that Strahm could be missing out on.
As Zolecki reports, Strahm's $4.5 million team option for 2026 automatically vests at $7.5 million if he throws 60 innings this season. That's not only a $3 million difference in salary but also job security for next season.
“Selfishly, I want to throw 60 innings, so I guarantee myself and family will be back in Philly next year,” Strahm said, per Zolecki. “But I understand the business. I also understand this team is destined to do great things, so I need to put that before myself.”
Getting a late start to the year will make it a challenge for Strahm to hit that 60-inning mark. He pitched 62 2/3 innings last year. It was his best season as a major league player, accumulating 2.1 fWAR, slightly edging out the 2.0 fWAR he earned in his first year in Philadelphia in 2023. He was dominant in 2024, posting a 1.87 ERA and 0.75 WHIP in 66 appearances.
The most innings Strahm threw in a single month last season was 12 frames in May. If he misses a month, he'll have to throw that many in the remaining five months of the regular season to get to his 60. That means he'll have to be just as good as he was last season to continue getting regular calls from Thomson.
Hopefully Strahm is ready for Opening Day. If not, hopefully he's just a couple of weeks behind. The Phillies won't rush him back, however, and Strahm is being smart about his situation.
“It’s only March,” Strahm told Zolecki. “We have bigger plans for this team than March. It’s something we want to get ahead of and clean up so it’s not an issue later. Let’s just say they had to put a leash on the dog.”
Good on Strahm for the selfless approach, but Phillies fans will want to see him back in the bullpen as soon as possible and pitching well enough to earn that $7.5 million in 2026.