Phillies finalize 2022 Opening Day roster
Bryson Stott and Alec Bohm have made the Phillies’ Opening Day roster.
So have Connor Brogdon and Damon Jones.
The Phillies formally announced their roster on Thursday morning, but they knew their 28-man roster before they played their final Grapefruit League game on Wednesday afternoon against the Rays at Tropicana Field.
Here is how the roster looks for Philadelphia's Opening Day matchup against the A's at Citizen's Bank Park on Friday at 3:05 p.m. ET:
Catchers (2): J.T. Realmuto, Garrett Stubbs
Realmuto’s backup will be Stubbs, which became official last week after the Phillies optioned Donny Sands to Triple-A. Stubbs won the job because of his experience. He played in 51 games over the past three seasons with the Astros, who have played many big games with big pitchers on the mound during that time.
Infielders (6): Rhys Hoskins, Jean Segura, Didi Gregorius, Alec Bohm, Bryson Stott, Johan Camargo
The Phillies needed to clear a 40-man roster spot for Stott, which they did by placing catcher/first baseman Rafael Marchan on the 60-day injured list. Stott and Bohm will both play at third base, but is there enough playing time for both? The Phillies say yes.
It is a requirement they each get enough reps.
“The only thing I’ve asked Joe [Girardi] is, if we’re going to keep Stott and Bohm, is that he can get them enough playing time,” Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said. “And he said yes. Especially at the beginning of the season we play 23 out of 24 days. And really at a time in which … guys can’t play every day. Our middle infielders can’t play every day. They’re just not ready to do that. Segura, Didi. I don’t even know about Hoskins.”
Outfielders (5): Bryce Harper, Nick Castellanos, Kyle Schwarber, Matt Vierling, Mickey Moniak
Odúbel Herrera did not make the Opening Day roster because of a strain in his right oblique. It opened the door for Moniak, who really impressed this spring. Asked if he knows who will be in center field on Opening Day, Girardi said he has a good idea. It could be Moniak, who hits left-handed. The A’s are pitching right-hander Frankie Montas.
Rotation (5): Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Ranger Suárez, Zach Eflin, Kyle Gibson
The Phillies entered camp believing their rotation could be a strength. The club would love for it to be a 1-2 punch with the lineup.
Nola, Gibson and Eflin will pitch the first three games of the season against the A’s. Suárez (visa issues) and Wheeler (shoulder soreness in December) entered camp behind schedule, but they will pitch Monday and Tuesday against the Mets.
Knebel, Hand, Familia, Domínguez, Falter, Nelson and Sánchez entered the final week of camp as locks. Jones seemed like a safe bet, too. But Alvarado and Brogdon were question marks, even though they entered camp as locks.
Alvarado was behind schedule because of neck and shoulder issues, but he cracked 100.5 mph in his Grapefruit League debut on Sunday, putting him on the roster. Brogdon had struggled this spring, particularly with his velocity. But his fastball averaged 94.4 mph on Tuesday after averaging 92.8 mph last week. It is not where Brogdon wants to be; his fastball averaged 96.0 mph last season. But he showed enough on Tuesday to convince the Phillies to bring him north. Brogdon can continue to build arm strength there. The belief is that he will be back to throwing like himself again in time.
“I felt better, but I think I still have a lot of things I can improve on,” Brogdon said. “The changeup isn’t where I want it. But I felt the ball coming out a little better today.”