Philadelphia Phillies 2024 first-rounder Dante Nori has turned heads with his fantastic World Baseball Classic tournament, but the 21-year-old is still set to open the upcoming season in the minor leagues. While Nori may not be on the club’s opening day roster, Phillies insider Jim Salisbury thinks there is a chance that his eye-opening performance accelerates his ascension to a major league team that sorely needs outfield help.
Coming into the 2026 World Baseball Classic, it wasn’t a foregone conclusion that Dante Nori would see the field much for Team Italy. His youth and decent, if unspectacular, minor league performance (.732 OPS across three levels in 2025) seemed to indicate that Nori would ride the bench, providing speed and defense behind major league outfielders Jakob Marsee, Dominic Canzone and Jac Caglianone. However, Italian manager Francisco Cervelli has started Nori in each of the team’s five games thus far, and has been rewarded handsomely.
Over 20 WBC plate appearances, Nori has racked up seven hits, including two homers and a double, while walking twice and swiping a bag. Nori’s 1.349 OPS is third on an Italian team that has surpassed all expectations, and will take on Team Venezuela tonight for a chance to compete in the tournament’s championship game.
Dante Nori's fantastic WBC gives the Phillies some new options this season
Dante Nori’s fantastic World Baseball Classic performance has raised his stock in the eyes of many Phillies fans, not to mention reporters in the know like NBCSports’ Jim Salisbury.
The longtime baseball scribe commented on his podcast, The Phillies Show, that Nori’s breakout opens up multiple avenues for the Phillies, including a major league call up this season, or using the young outfielder as trade bait to help another area of the roster.
Is Dante Nori a guy that could find himself in the Phillies outfield in the future?
— ThePhilliesShow (@ThePhilliesShow) March 14, 2026
"I am really, really curious to see how he builds on this confidence-building WBC here in the regular season wherever he opens up," says @JimSalisbury215. pic.twitter.com/UIeKdEVWbi
Salisbury stated, “They’ve [the Phillies] got two centerfielders. Is Nori a guy that they could use in a trade if they have a big need at mid-season? Maybe. But maybe he’s also a guy that all of a sudden now you’re looking at two guys in that outfield in the coming years… two exciting talents.”
The second exciting talent that Salisbury refers to is of course top-100 prospect Justin Crawford, the batting average machine who’s slated to open the season as the Phils’ starting centerfielder. The prevailing thought had been that Crawford would stake his claim to a job this season, and Nori’s time may come in another year or two, if he’s not traded before then. However, Nori may be forcing the Phillies’ hand.
If the success at the plate Dante Nori is exhibiting right now is sustainable, the Phillies will need to give him a shot in the big leagues sooner rather than later. That would be welcome news to Phillies fans, as the club has a shortage of quality depth. The outfield picture currently looks like new addition Adolis García in right field, Crawford in center, and a Brandon Marsh/Otto Kemp platoon in left. Not the most inspiring group. An injection of excitement in Nori would give the team cover if any one of their existing outfielders falters, and could also let the team bring in an impact piece at the trade deadline if need be.