Phillies News: Francisco Renteria, Cristopher Sánchez Cy Young, Brad Keller joins WBC

It was a wild finish to the week in Major League Baseball. After an eventful opening to international free agency on Thursday, there was a flurry of multiple big-name free agent signings. Unfortunately, the Philadelphia Phillies got shut out and were forced to turn back to J.T. Realmuto.

There was plenty that happened while Phillies fans were wallowing in the devastating news about Kyle Tucker signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Bo Bichette going to the New York Mets. We're here to get you caught up on some of the news that you may have missed over the last couple of days.

Let's start with the Phillies' big news from Thursday, before things went downhill.

Phillies News: Top international prospect Francisco Renteria introduces himself to Philadelphia

If you missed the news on Thursday, the Phillies made a big splash when the 2026 international free agency signing period opened. As expected, the organization signed one of the top prospects in this year's class, Venezuelan outfielder Francisco Renteria to a $4 million bonus.

With some of the best raw and projectable power and a plus hit tool the 17-year-old center fielder is definitely someone who Phillies fans will hear a lot about in the coming years. Renteria was at Citizens Bank Park to officially sign his contract and recorded a special message for fans from the field.

The Phillies player development account posted the clip on Instagram in which Renteria introduced himself to the city, saying, “Hey Phillies fanatics, I’m Francisco Renteria just to tell you that I’m so excited to be here.”

Phillies fans will be excited for him to be here too, hopefully sooner rather than later, as he’s ranked as MLB Pipeline’s No. 3 international prospect from this class.

Cristopher Sánchez's preseason NL Cy Young odds

With just 24 days until pitchers and catchers report to spring training, one of the Phillies' key arms will arrive with a big 2026 season ahead of him. Left-hander Cristopher Sánchez will look to build on his breakout 2025 season for the Phillies.

While Phillies fans know how good the southpaw is, the rest of baseball has finally clued in after Sánchez finished second in NL Cy Young voting in 2025. Ahead of this season, he's being given a shot by Las Vegas to nab the award. The oddsmakers at FanDuel rank him third at +700 behind the defending champ Paul Skenes (+250) of the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Dodgers' Yoshinobu Yamamoto (+550).

The now 29-year-old made 32 starts and threw a career-high 202 innings. He also set career bests with a 2.50 ERA and 212 strikeouts. His 6.4 fWAR ranked third among all MLB pitchers and second in the NL, right behind Skenes' 6.5 fWAR.

Here's to another big season on deck for the new anchor of the Phillies' starting rotation.

Brad Keller joins Phillies teammates on Team USA for 2026 WBC

As the 2026 world baseball classic approaches, now only 46 days away, another Phillies player has joined the ranks of Team USA. Right-hander Brad Keller has joined the bullpen for the Americans ahead of his first season with the Phillies.

Keller signed a two-year, $22 million contract in December after a career season with the Chicago Cubs. He pitched 69 2/3 innings with a 2.07 ERA, a 0.96 WHIP, and 75 strikeouts in 2025.

He joins seven other Phillies players who have committed to play in the WBC, including Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber for Team USA. The other Phillies pitchers who are participating, so far, include Taijuan Walker and Alan Rangel with Team Mexico.

Closer Jhoan Duran and starter Jesús Luzardo have both bowed out of this year's competition sighting preparation, for their 2026 season with the Phillies. Christopher Sánchez might play but has yet to commit after a false report emerged that he was sitting out of the event.