5 Phillies who will make the 2024 Opening Day roster but might not last the season

As the Philadelphia Phillies look forward to their 2024 MLB season, their roster appears pretty much set, with most of their players returning from last season. Other than the departure of closer Craig Kimbrel, the bulk of the main players from the 2023 Opening Day roster is intact for this year.

However, that doesn’t mean that every player's spot on the 26-man roster is secure for the entire season. Here, we take a look at five Phillies players who will likely get a spot on the Opening Day roster but may not end up lasting the season with the ballclub.

Jake Cave

During the current offseason, the Phillies re-signed Jake Cave to a one-year, $1 million deal to bring him back for 2024. Last year, Cave saw time both in the minors and the majors with the Phillies organization after being claimed off waivers from the Baltimore Orioles last offseason.

He produced some contrasting mixed results. In his time in the minor leagues, Cave was an unstoppable hitting machine as he compiled an eye-popping .346 batting average with a 1.113 OPS, along with 61 runs scored, 30 doubles, 16 home runs, and 49 RBI over just 59 games.

However, he couldn't translate his success in the minors to the major league level, which has been the case for much of his MLB career. In 2023 with the Phillies, he batted a dismal .212 with a .620 OPS, with 18 runs scored, eight doubles, five home runs, and 21 RBI in 65 games. Nevertheless, Cave made the postseason roster because of his power potential still in play. In the end, he just saw action in three playoff games as a pinch-hitter and registered one hit.

With Cave out of options for the 2024 season, the Phillies will likely begin the season with him on the roster and give him all the opportunities to thrive in their winning environment. But if he continues to struggle and underperform at the major league level, he may not last with the team through the season.

Johan Rojas

Johan Rojas was one of the pleasant surprises the Phillies had during their 2023 season when he was brought up mid-season to help solve their outfield problem. Both Nick Castellanos and Kyle Schwarber had been huge liabilities with their atrocious outfield defense, and the Phillies needed a viable solution before they ended up throwing away their season.

Removing Schwarber from the field and planting him in the DH spot paved the way for Rojas to make his major league debut in July.

Rojas ended up providing the much-needed defensive stability in the outfield, with his elite abilities on full display day in and day out. In just 57 games in the field, he registered an astounding 15 DRS, leading the team by a mile, along with a strong .986 fielding percentage.

He also fared admirably at the plate, hitting a strong .302 with 24 runs scored, nine doubles, two triples, two home runs, 23 RBI, and 14 stolen bases, although his high 25.6 percent strikeout rate left a bit to be desired. However, his bat became exposed during the postseason when he hit a paltry .093 with 15 strikeouts in just 43 at-bats in 13 playoff games.

For the 2024 season, Rojas will likely start the season on the major league roster as the Phillies envision having him, along with Brandon Marsh and Nick Castellanos, as their main outfield core on Opening Day. However, although Rojas’ defense is second to none, if he hasn’t drastically improved his bat to ensure it's MLB-ready, there's a good chance he may see time in the minors for further development.

Orion Kerkering

Orion Kerkering sure had one heck of a season in 2023. Ranked in the Phillies Top 10 prospects according to MLB Pipeline, Kerkering took a huge leap in his development last year when he ascended four minor league levels.

Collectively, he pitched to a stellar 4-1 record with 14 saves, along with a 1.51 ERA and 0.89 WHIP, giving up only nine earned runs while walking 12 and striking out 79 in 53 2/3 innings. It earned him a surprising promotion to the big leagues near the end of the regular season, in which he made three appearances.

Kerkering impressed so much that he was included on the Phillies’ playoff roster as well. That was surely an amazing way for the 22-year-old to cap off his stellar 2023 baseball season. He actually held his own during the first two rounds of the playoffs when he yielded zero runs in three appearances.

However, he finally faced adversity when he was brought into more high-leverage situations during the NLCS against the Arizona Diamondbacks. He gave up two runs on six hits in just 2 1/3 innings of work. Unfortunately, it included the game-tying run in Game 3 that ultimately helped the Diamondbacks turn the series around.

Aside from the small blip on his resumé from the NLCS, Kerkering had a memorable season that he will never forget for the rest of his career. With Kimbrel gone via free agency this offseason, Kerkering is a prime candidate to take his place in the Phillies’ bullpen, as he could potentially be the heir to the closer role down the road.

The odds are in his favor to make the 2024 Opening Day roster for sure, but whether or not he'll remain with the team all season will depend on how fast he can adapt to the rigors of the major league season, along with the maturity of his game. Otherwise, he could see a stint or two back in the minors to fine-tune his game to become MLB-ready and be as polished as possible.

Dylan Covey

Another player that the Phillies brought back to the ballclub this offseason was reliever Dylan Covey, as he was inked to a one-year, $850,000 deal. Last season, Covey was claimed off waivers from the Los Angeles Dodgers in May to help bolster the bullpen.

His tenure with the Phillies didn’t start out the way he expected when he was used sparingly while struggling in his first 10 appearances for the ballclub. Covey amassed a gaudy 6.35 ERA, along with a 1.65 WHIP, giving up 12 earned runs including three home runs with 14 strikeouts in just 17 innings.

However, he turned things around drastically in the second half when he got the opportunity to pitch in more games. In the end, he compiled an impressive 1.64 ERA while giving up only four earned runs in 22 innings of work in his final 18 games of the season.

But what's more intriguing for Covey was the fact that even when he was struggling mightily at the start, the Phillies didn't designate him for assignment. They instead had sent pitchers like Yunior Marté and Andrew Bellatti back down to the minors, as well as designating Andrew Vasquez for assignment, while keeping Covey on the major league roster through it all.

As a result, they must see something promising in his ability to keep him cemented on the roster, which means we will likely see him as part of the 2024 Opening Day roster as well. However, the Phillies better hope they get the second-half version of Covey because if the first-half version shows up (which was more reflective of his typical performance in MLB to date), the leash this time will definitely be a lot shorter with some top pitching prospects waiting impatiently for their chance this year.