4 Phillies players who might not be on the roster by May 1
There are a few players who may not end up sticking with the major league club through April.
With a week of baseball in the books, the Philadelphia Phillies have seen many highs and lows during their tumultuous start to the 2024 MLB season. Overall, they came out of their first week with a 4-5 record, but things could have been worse — like their division rivals, the 3-6 New York Mets, 3-6 Washington Nationals, and the 1-9 Miami Marlins.
So far, we have seen stellar performances from unsung heroes like Spencer Turnbull, who impressed in his Phillies debut after signing just a value one-year, $2 million contract this past offseason. He held the Cincinnati Reds to zero runs on three hits, with seven strikeouts in five innings of work to help the Phillies get out of their recent series with at least a win to show for it.
Ace Zack Wheeler has also been off to a hot start, having given up only one earned run along with recording a whopping 15 strikeouts in just 12 innings pitched. However, a blown lead and a lack of run support have kept him from earning his first win of the season thus far.
In addition, on the offensive side of things, both Brandon Marsh and Kyle Schwarber have started 2024 off on the right foot. Marsh is hitting .280 with a .816 OPS, with two home runs and five RBI, while Schwarber has posted a solid .250 average and an .742 OPS, along with seven runs scored, two home runs, and five RBI. Even superstar Bryce Harper has gotten in on the act, jacking three home runs, including a grand slam, and is now hitting .290 with a .998 OPS this season.
However, many other Phillies have struggled to begin the new year, whether it has been the hitting or pitching. Fortunately for most of them, their spot on the big league team appears more or less secure, so they will have the time to work out of their funk. But for other players, their bad starts may be enough to spell them from the roster if they don’t improve enough in the coming weeks.
Here are four Phillies players who might lose their spot on the 26-man roster if their game doesn't turn into form by the time May rolls around.
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Luis Ortiz
Luis Ortiz, the former 2014 first-round pick, had been through a long and daunting journey in his baseball career before finally getting a little taste of success last season with the Phillies. Claimed off waivers from the San Francisco Giants back during the 2022-23 offseason, Ortiz was called up in mid-April last year to take the place of McKinley Moore in the Phillies’ bullpen. He ended up making just eight appearances before being optioned back down to the minors one month later.
For the rest of the 2023 season, Ortiz was occasionally brought up for spot bullpen duty, but never really maintained a permanent gig throughout the year. In the end, Ortiz still put together some decent numbers in his limited time with the team, posting a 3.32 ERA with 16 strikeouts in 19 innings pitched. However, he was prone to contact, giving up a total of 23 hits.
This year, Ortiz had a strong spring showing in which he pitched to a solid 2.70 ERA and 0.80 WHIP with 10 strikeouts in 10 innings pitched over nine games. He earned one of the last spots in the Phillies’ bullpen on the Opening Day roster.
However, in his season debut, Ortiz gave up two earned runs on three hits in just 2/3 innings of work before landing on the IL with a left ankle sprain following the game. With the prolific Orion Kerkering looking to make his return to the Phillies’ pen soon and the emergence of Spencer Turnbull, who could also be moved to the bullpen when starter Taijuan Walker rejoins the rotation, there could be no spot remaining for Ortiz but the minors when he comes off the IL.
Sending Ortiz down would make sense for the Phillies since he still has minor league options remaining.
Nick Nelson
Nick Nelson began the 2024 season in Triple-A Lehigh Valley before being called up to replace the recently injured Ortiz on the roster. Unlike Ortiz, who has been serving primarily in a relief role in his past few professional baseball seasons, Nelson has been stretched out as a starter by the Phillies, given the 25 starts that he made in their minor league system last year. As a result, he could serve as potential starting depth and the long man out of the bullpen for the Phillies.
But since Nelson was, in effect, replacing Ortiz, with Turnbull already taking Walker’s spot in the rotation, Nelson is being utilized as a reliever this time around. So far, he has made two relief appearances in which he has given up one earned run on two hits with two strikeouts in 1 1/3 innings of work.
The last time he was a major contributor on the Phillies’ roster was back in 2022 when he went 3-2 with a less-than-stellar 4.85 ERA and 1.49 WHIP with 69 strikeouts in 68 2/3 innings over 47 appearances. So Nelson is looking to capitalize on his current opportunity to stick with the ballclub.
However, similar to Ortiz's situation, Nelson could be the odd man out, with Kerkering and Walker making their way back to the Phillies soon. Since Ortiz’s spot is in jeopardy for that very reason, with Nelson as Ortiz’s replacement and also having an option remaining, similar circumstances would apply to Nelson as well.
Unless Nelson miraculously surprises the Phillies brass with some exceptional performances, he is most likely destined for the minors again in the coming weeks.
Ricardo Pinto
Talk about a whirlwind of a debut for bullpen hopeful Ricardo Pinto, who had a lot happening in his first appearance of the season for the Phillies on Tuesday.
When reliever Connor Brogdon was designated for assignment, Pinto was called up and had to make his way to the game that evening. However, as The Philadelphia Inquirer's Alex Coffey reported, that was an adventure (subscription required). He endured a six-hour car ride from Rochester to get to the game.
After showing up in the fourth inning, he was shockingly thrust into game action following Spencer Turnbull’s impressive start. The Phillies didn’t just ease him into action, as Pinto pitched four key innings to register the save and secure the Phillies win over the Reds. In total, he threw 73 pitches and gave up two earned runs on five hits with no walks and four strikeouts. Pinto's solid first impression was many times better than what Brogdon had provided in his three appearances.
This spring, Pinto had a decent showing despite his brief stay in training camp with the Phillies. He posted a 1-0 record with a 3.18 ERA and 1.24 WHIP, giving up just two earned runs with three walks and three strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings of work. Perhaps the Phillies brass saw enough to give him his shot again at the big league level, an opportunity that he hadn’t seen since 2019 with the Tampa Bay Rays.
Similar to Ortiz and Nelson, Pinto will be one of the bubble players when both Kerkering and Walker come off the injured list. But unlike the other two, Pinto has no minor league options remaining, so if he continues to impress, he might have the slight upper hand to stick with the team.
Johan Rojas
Despite getting a vote of confidence from manager Rob Thomson, as Marcus Hayes of The Philadelphia Inquirer reported, it feels like promising outfielder Johan Rojas is one of the bubble players early in the season. This is the same Rojas who appeared midway through the 2023 season to help stabilize the Phillies’ outfield defense, along with hitting close to .300 in over 164 plate appearances, showing that he could get things done both on the field and at the plate.
However, the offense fell off dramatically during the postseason, as he was held to just a dismal .093 average while striking out 15 times in just 43 at-bats over 13 playoff games. At that moment, the Phillies realized that his defense may be MLB-ready, but his bat still needed some work.
Unfortunately, Rojas’ struggles at the plate continued through spring training this year and now into the regular season as well. He didn’t register a hit until his sixth game and finally hit a ball beyond the infield on Friday when he flied out. He's now 1-for-22 on the season.
In addition, his bat has cast so much doubt that the Phillies even had to save Alec Bohm to pinch-hit for Rojas late in the game on Wednesday. In doing so, it prevented the use of Bohm in a more critical bases-loaded situation earlier in the sixth inning to eliminate the lefty-on-lefty matchup between Brandon Marsh and Reds reliever Justin Wilson (Marsh ended up striking out to end the rally).
If Rojas continues to struggle this extensively at the plate, it may serve him and the Phillies better to have him spend some time in Triple-A to develop his bat further. It would be most beneficial to both parties in the long run and will ensure that Rojas can have a sustainable career in the majors in the future.
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