The Philadelphia Phillies are close to having two important pieces return to the field with left-handed starting pitcher Ranger Suárez and outfielder Weston Wilson currently on rehab assignments and inching closer to making their 2025 regular season debuts.
The impending return of Suárez and Wilson will undoubtedly have consequences for a handful of players on the Phillies' 26-man roster. Phillies manager Rob Thomson and the front office will once again have some tough decisions to make.
Suárez made his second rehab start for Single-A Clearwater on Wednesday. He will likely need one or two more rehab appearances before rejoining the Phillies starting rotation. While his return will certainly force the team to make a long-term decision on Taijuan Walker's role for the rest of the season, adding Wilson back to the roster could impact a number of players whose job security has recently been in question.
Weston Wilson looking good to begin his rehab assignment in Triple-A
Wilson took another positive step when the Phillies moved his rehab from Single-A Clearwater to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Sidelined since the beginning of spring training with an oblique injury, Wilson showed no signs of rust with the IronPigs on Tuesday.
The versatile 30-year-old bench bat impressed at the plate by going 2-for-5 with a double, triple and a walk in his first taste of Triple-A pitching this season. His bat was on display once again on Wednesday night, chipping in a single and a run scored during an 8-4 losing effort with the IronPigs.
It wasn't long ago that Wilson looked like the pre-camp favorite to win the open fourth outfielder role on the team before the oblique injury wiped out the entirety of his spring training. While Wilson still has one minor league option remaining, his right-handed bat and Brandon Marsh's struggles could be enough to compel the club to bring him up well before his 20-day rehab window ends on April 28.
Brandon Marsh could be the odd man out when Phillies activate Weston Wilson from IL
Marsh's nightmarish start to the 2025 season has generated plenty of negative headlines over the last week as the popular outfielder continues to fail while trying to battle out of a concerning 0-for-31 slump. If you expand Marsh's line to include his season totals, he's 4-for-42 and hasn't had a hit in April.
While the Phillies organization has preached patience when addressing Marsh's struggles publicly, there's a certain point where the team will have to find production elsewhere. But where?
It's little secret that Marsh has two minor league options remaining. If his slump continues, the team might do what many thought previously unthinkable, and send him down to Triple-A to get his approach back in a less pressure-packed environment.
The front office recently said that Wilson will likely spend his allotted 20 days of rehab time building back up at the minor league levels. But with Wilson already looking locked in at the plate following his 2-for-5 showing on Tuesday, could the Phillies accelerate that timeline if Marsh continues to struggle?
With limited outfield depth to speak of, swapping Wilson for Marsh makes a lot of sense before the team is forced into making another franchise-altering move at the trade deadline later this summer. It should also be noted that while Wilson's a very athletic player, he has only logged one inning playing center field at the big league level. Playing Wilson in center would be swapping defense for offense, and with Rojas the only other in-house option, the Phillies could be headed for trouble if Marsh can't turn things around at the plate.
Kody Clemens' Phillies future hangs in the balance
While demoting Marsh is a strong possibility, no other Phillies player will be effected more by what happens with Marsh or Wilson than underutilized utility man Kody Clemens. Despite making the 26-man roster out of spring training, Clemens' left-handed bat has mostly worked against him, as the team has played him sparingly so far this season. There has been more effort put forth by Thomson this year to solve the problem of his lineups being neutralized by left-handed pitching. Unfortunately for Clemens, he finds himself in baseball limbo again this year.
With Edmundo Sosa and Rojas currently handling most of the team's utility needs, adding Wilson back into the mix should finally force the front office to make a final decision on Clemens' status with the club.
Out of minor league options, the Phillies would have to either trade Clemens or designate him for assignment if they choose to add Wilson's right-handed bat to the roster. Clemens could have some trade value for a team looking for a utility player capable of making the occasional start. However, demoting Marsh would likely keep Clemens on the 26-man roster for a little while longer.
That last scenario would likely be delaying the inevitable. Clemens' future with the Phillies could ultimately depend on how the team wants to handle Marsh's playing time, and the front office's decision about whether Wilson's right-handed bat is a better fit for the Phillies' roster as it's currently constructed. With Clemens likely seeking an MLB job and more playing time, a potential roster shuffle could optimistically be his path to more playing time for a rival ball club.