3 Phillies spring training storylines to watch: Johan Rojas, bullpen battle, Sánchez's spot
With spring training finally getting underway, here are three of the top storylines to watch over the next six weeks.
The time is here. Spring training is upon us.
Pitchers and catchers will have their first official workout on Wednesday. Position players will arrive shortly after, and the first full-team workout will take place on Feb. 19.
As players get to work in the Florida sunshine preparing for the upcoming season, baseball fans emerge from their winter slumber and take stock of what 2024 has in store for us all. Philadelphia Phillies fans have had a good three months to lick their wounds from the unceremonious elimination from the NLCS at the hands of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Now, eternal optimism reigns with baseball officially back on the calendar.
The Phillies are in the hunt for another postseason appearance and, hopefully, fingers-crossed, a trip back to the World Series this time around. With only one big splash this offseason — re-signing Aaron Nola to a seven-year, $172 million contract — the rest of the front office's moves have been to shore up organizational pitching depth for the 162-game grind looming on the horizon.
The free agent market remains loaded with big names, both pitchers and position players, so there's a chance things could change for the Phillies over the next few weeks. To get a feel for what might lay ahead, here are our predictions for the rest of the moves the Phillies could make before Opening Day arrives on March 28.
But for now, the roster is set for the start of training camp and Grapefruit League action, which kicks off on Feb. 24.
As we head into the six weeks of spring training and the beginning of what will hopefully be close to nine months of Phillies baseball, here are the top storylines to watch as the team begins training camp in Clearwater, Florida.
Can Cristopher Sánchez lock down the fifth starter job?
One of the seemingly less dramatic storylines heading into 2024 is the fifth spot in the rotation. While the Phillies have steadfastly maintained all offseason that they're happy with the starting five and the rotation is set, that has to be based on the assumption that Cristopher Sánchez continues his progression from last season.
There's no question that Sánchez has some legitimate stuff he managed to harness in 2023 as he took over the final rotation spot. For better or worse, the Phillies are relying heavily on him to put together a repeat performance in 2024.
When the left-hander came up for good in mid-June last season, he was a revelation as the fifth starter. Over 17 starts and one relief appearance from June 17 until the end of the season, Sánchez put up a 3-5 record but ran a 3.32 ERA and a 3.06 xFIP in 95 innings.
He had an 8.62 K/9, but the real story was his 1.33 BB/9. In his previous 52 2/3 MLB innings between 2021 and 2022, he posted a 4.10 BB/9, and his minor league rate of 5.26 before getting the call to the big leagues left much to be desired.
The 27-year-old will have to show in spring training that he still has the control that made him such a valuable surprise addition to the rotation last season. Otherwise, he could find himself getting pushed by the likes of recent acquisitions Kolby Allard and Spencer Turnbull if they put together solid camps.
Battles in the bullpen
Speaking of recent acquisitions, the battle for the final bullpen spots on the 2024 Opening Day roster has become much more interesting over the last couple of weeks.
The first six relief jobs are all but spoken for, with José Alvarado, Gregory Soto, and Matt Strahm from the left side and Jeff Hoffman, Seranthony Domínguez, and Orion Kerkering from the right side seemingly locked into Opening Day roles. Assuming Kerkering does what the team expects him to do, that leaves two open jobs — although the youngster will still have to show he deserves his spot during spring training.
Among the current 40-man roster contenders are incumbents Connor Brogdon, Yunior Marte, Dylan Covey, Nick Nelson, and Luis Ortiz, plus newcomers Michael Rucker, Spencer Turnbull, Kolby Allard, and Max Castillo. With likely one long-relief role up for grabs, whoever doesn't land that job out of camp will likely stay stretched out in the minors as rotation depth.
Based on current depth charts from Roster Resource, we can assume that Brogdon, who's out of options, Covey, based on his remarkable finish in 2023, and Turnbull, as a long-man, are the top contenders and have the edge for now. But nothing is set in stone in the middle of February.
Last season, Brogdon pitched 29 innings and ended up with a 4.03 ERA in his relief role. Dylan Covey threw 38 1/3 innings in relief after coming over from the Los Angeles Dodgers and finished with a 2.58 ERA out of the bullpen.
How each player responds in training camp and Grapefruit League action will determine who Rob Thomson and his coaching staff pick to join the big club and head north for Opening Day in Philadelphia.
This is going to be a fun battle to watch for the next six weeks.
Johan Rojas and the never-ending questions in the outfield
All offseason we've heard about the outfield "situation" and the question marks swirling around Johan Rojas.
After struggling mightily at the plate through the postseason, it's not a sure thing that the youngster's bat is MLB-ready. He hit .302 with a .771 OPS in 59 games during the regular season — buoyed by an unsustainable .410 BABIP — but wilted in the playoffs, collecting just four hits in 45 plate appearances for a meek .093/.114/.163 slash line.
Regardless, the Phillies believe in Rojas and want to give him the starting center field job on Opening Day. With zero questions about his Gold Glove-caliber defense, they will give Rojas every opportunity to prove himself with the bat this spring. He doesn't need to be a world-beater; he just needs to hit well enough to hold down the ninth spot in the lineup on an everyday basis.
"We want to give an opportunity to Rojas," Dombrowski said in a recent interview. "He did not have a good postseason offensively, but he played well for us before, and he's an outstanding defensive outfielder so that makes us better right off the bat in that regard ... there's not a lot of other holes there if you're going to give Rojas the opportunity."
It's a precarious position to be in, and the outfield plans balance on a knife-edge and will require multiple things to go right. All eyes will be on Rojas from the opening of the Grapefruit League schedule on Feb. 24 to see if his offseason work has paid off.
If Rojas can earn the job over the next six weeks, that moves Brandon Marsh over to left field, and the Phillies are hoping he can hit lefties so they can get him in the lineup as often as possible. If Rojas needs seasoning in Triple-A to start the year, that moves Marsh over to center and relies on a platoon of Cristian Pache and Jake Cave in left.
This situation has only been more complicated by the recent news of Marsh's surprise knee surgery. He could take 3-4 weeks to get back into action, which won't give him much time to get up to speed for Opening Day. Not having to rely on him as the everyday center fielder out of the gate would be helpful.
It all depends on Rojas' bat.
manual