The latest on Phillies' Opening Day roster

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Meaningful baseball is almost here.

The Phillies will play their final Grapefruit League game Monday afternoon against the Rays at Spectrum Field. They fly to Philadelphia immediately afterward.

The front office has until noon on March 28 to finalize the roster for Opening Day, which will be played later that afternoon against the Braves at Citizens Bank Park. In reality, the Phillies likely will know their 25 men before they leave Florida.

Here is a look at the Phillies’ projected 25-man roster with Opening Day eight days away:

Catcher (two): J.T. Realmuto, Andrew Knapp
What has changed? Not much. The only intrigue here is that non-roster invitee Drew Butera can opt out of his contract Thursday and non-roster invitee Rob Brantly can opt out of his contract Monday. The Phillies have 48 hours to make decisions on both catchers once they exercise their out clauses. Butera will receive a $100,000 retention bonus if he is not placed on the 25-man roster or released.

It is unlikely, but if both catchers leave, the Phillies will have a lack of catching depth in Triple-A.

First base (one): Rhys Hoskins
What has changed? Hoskins is battling “mild” soreness in his left shoulder, but Phillies manager Gabe Kapler said they expect him to be ready by Opening Day. If Hoskins needs to miss a game this season, either because of rest or injury, Maikel Franco will play first base.

Second base (one): Cesar Hernandez
What has changed? Hernandez will hit sixth or seventh this season, after spending the past couple seasons hitting leadoff. Andrew McCutchen will hit leadoff instead, because the Phillies love his combination of on-base skills and power.

Third base (one): Maikel Franco
What has changed? Nobody has stepped up in the competition between Franco and Scott Kingery. Franco entered Wednesday batting .231 (9 for 39) with one home run, six RBIs, one walk, nine strikeouts and a .602 OPS. Kingery is batting .214 (9 for 42) with one home run, three RBIs, two walks, 15 strikeouts and a .607 OPS. Based on those numbers, while Franco has not won the job, he has not lost it either.

Shortstop (one): Jean Segura
What has changed? Nothing. Segura will play nearly every day with Kingery occasionally giving him a rest.

Outfield (five): Bryce Harper, Andrew McCutchen, Odúbel Herrera, Nick Williams, Aaron Altherr
What has changed? Roman Quinn will open the season on the injured list because of a strained right oblique. He might not be on the IL for long, but the injury allows the Phillies to delay a potentially difficult decision. Both Quinn and Altherr are out of options, meaning the Phillies could lose either player if they place him on waivers. Williams can be optioned, but a source said recently the Phillies prefer to keep him on the bench because they think he is their best bench bat. It might not be the best situation for Williams because he cannot play center field, and McCutchen and Harper will play nearly every day at the corners, but the Phillies believe they can get Williams at least 300 plate appearances this season. How? Williams can pinch-hit nearly every day, and they know it is a rarity that everybody stays healthy an entire season.

Dylan Cozens has an outside chance to make the team if the Phillies choose to carry an extra bench player the first couple weeks of the season. The Phillies have only five games in the season’s first eight days, meaning Vince Velasquez could open in the bullpen, giving them eight relievers. More on that later.

Utility (one): Scott Kingery
What has changed? Non-roster invitee Sean Rodriguez has an outside chance to make the team as the fifth bench player. But would the Phillies remove somebody from the 40-man roster for a couple weeks of Rodriguez? Rodriguez can opt out of his deal Thursday. Non-roster invitee Andrew Romine can opt out Thursday, too. Romine also has a $100,000 retention bonus in play.

Starting pitchers (five): Aaron Nola, Jake Arrieta, Nick Pivetta, Zach Eflin and Vince Velasquez
What has changed? The only thing to watch here is where Velasquez starts. As mentioned above, the Phillies could carry a fifth bench player and still have eight relief pitchers the first couple weeks of the season, if they start Velasquez in the bullpen. The Phillies do not need a fifth starter until April 9 against the Nationals at Citizens Bank Park.

Jerad Eickhoff and Drew Anderson are No. 6 and 7 on the Phillies’ depth chart. Eickhoff impressed in his last Grapefruit League start. Anderson has impressed throughout the spring, incorporating an effective cutter into his arsenal.

Relief pitcher (eight): David Robertson, Seranthony Domínguez, Héctor Neris, Pat Neshek, Adam Morgan, José Álvarez, Juan Nicasio and Yacksel Ríos
What has changed? Hunter will open the season on the IL because of a strained flexor in his right arm, opening a spot in the bullpen for Edubray Ramos, Rios, Victor Arano or James Pazos. Rios is pitching the best of the four this spring. He has a 1.08 ERA in 8 1/3 innings. He has struck out six and walked one. He has hit 99 mph on the radar gun. Ramos (7.94 ERA in 5 2/3 innings), Arano (15 hits and 17 runs in just three innings) and Pazos (6.14 ERA in 7 1/3 innings) have struggled to varying degrees. But it would not be a surprise to see Arano make the pen. The Phillies like Arano because he has pitched well in the past and he can pitch multiple innings. They believe his struggles are the result of minor mechanical issues. If Arano can fix them before Opening Day, he could be the bullpen’s eighth man.

Here is another quick look at the projected 25:

CATCHERS
J.T. Realmuto
Andrew Knapp

INFIELDERS
Rhys Hoskins
Cesar Hernandez
Maikel Franco
Jean Segura

OUTFIELDERS
Bryce Harper
Andrew McCutchen
Odubel Herrera
Nick Williams
Aaron Altherr

UTILITY PLAYERS
Scott Kingery

STARTING PITCHERS
Aaron Nola
Jake Arrieta
Nick Pivetta
Zach Eflin
Vince Velasquez

RELIEF PITCHERS
David Robertson
Seranthony Dominguez
Hector Neris
Pat Neshek
Adam Morgan
Jose Alvarez
Juan Nicasio
Yacksel Rios