Phillies starting lineup for spring opener vs Blue Jays sees newest Phillie lead off

The day is finally here. After four months of a long and grueling offseason, the Philadelphia Phillies will take the field to open their Grapefruit League spring training schedule.

The Phillies will line up as the visiting squad against the Toronto Blue Jays in Dunedin for a 1:07 p.m. ET start. Before we get to the game, there are a couple of interesting notes from manager Rob Thomson’s first lineup of the spring.

The newest Phillie, Whit Merrifield, will take the first at-bat of the spring, against his former team no less, and take the field as the starting second baseman. The three-time All-Star appeared in 84 games at second and led off 29 times for the Blue Jays in 2023.

Phillies starting lineup for spring opener vs Blue Jays (Feb. 24, 2024)

One of the other players from the projected Opening Day roster starting today is center fielder Johan Rojas. The young defensive wizard will begin his journey toward trying to clinch his spot with an improved bat. The team is going to give him every chance to earn his job this spring, but he’ll have to show enough improvement at the plate to get the Opening Day role.

Another likely Opening Day roster hopeful, utility infielder Edmundo Sosa, will get the start at shortstop in his bid to solidify a spot on the bench to begin the season.

The Phillies will send Kolby Allard to the mound to face a Jays lineup featuring a handful of regulars, including Bo Bichette, Justin Turner, and Daulton Varsho. Allard, a former first-round pick of the Atlanta Braves, signed with Philadelphia at the end of January.

The Blue Jays were slated to send out their top prospect, starting pitcher Ricky Tiedemann, to start the game, but he was scratched due to hamstring discomfort. Instead, the Phillies will face Chad Dallas to start the game.

As spring training games usually go, we’ll see a lot of different players cycle through the lineup today as everyone starts getting the winter rust off and the front office coaching staff begin to evaluate as many players as possible in game action.