The Philadelphia Phillies have been waiting patiently for their NLDS opponent as the Wild Card round played out. After clinching a first-round bye, the club has had a chance to get healthy with their week off. Now that the Milwaukee Brewers and New York Mets' series has finished, they know who to expect at Citizens Bank Park on Saturday.
With their shocking 4-2 comeback win on Thursday night, the Mets won the Wild Card Series two games to one and will head to Philadelphia for a best-of-five showdown with the NL East champion Phillies.
During the Phillies' time off, the club has had some time to decide which players should make the NLDS roster, and which players will wait in the wings. Here's who we see lining up against the Mets in the NLDS.
Phillies 2024 NLDS roster prediction ahead of showdown vs. Mets
Clubs construct a 26-man roster for each series of the MLB playoffs that can contain no more than 13 pitchers. From the sounds of it, the Phillies are likely to carry an extra bench bat in lieu of a 13th pitcher. Here's a positional breakdown of which players the Phillies could take into October.
Catchers (2)
J.T. Realmuto
This is an obvious one to start with. J.T. Realmuto will be the Phillies catcher during each game of the regular season barring any unforeseen circumstances. The guy is a machine and will be an integral part of the club from an offensive and defensive standpoint. He works well with the pitchers, can throw out potential base stealers, and can be a damaging bat in the middle to backend of the lineup.
Garrett Stubbs
Any catcher who plays behind Realmuto is used to extended time off. Garrett Stubbs will be in that boat come Game 1 of the NLDS. In the previous two postseasons, the backup catcher has appeared in just one game and did not even see an at-bat. That is okay though. He is there to bring positivity and some cheerleading off the bench. Stubbs has accepted his role, and he will likely continue to not see much time in a playoff game.