There are four days until the Phillies welcome the Texas Rangers to Citizens Bank Park for Opening Day, but their initial 26-man roster appears to be set already.
Both LHP Tim Mayza and IF/OF Dylan Moore triggered opt outs in their minor-league contracts, and were granted their releases Saturday. However, the Phillies announced Sunday that they have re-signed both to MLB contracts.
While Mayza and Moore will make the Opening Day roster, RHP Zach McCambley will not, as he was returned to the Miami Marlins. Because McCambley was a Rule-5 selection, the Phillies either needed to keep him on their 26-man roster, or offer him back to the Marlins after he cleared waivers.
Additionally, RHP Chase Shugart was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, while the following veterans who are on minor-league deals were reassigned to minor-league camp (and will also be IronPigs to begin the season, presumably): OF Bryan De La Cruz, RHP Lou Trivino, INF Christian Cairo, INF Lover Peguero and RHP Jonathan Hernández.
Meanwhile, Ty Daubert of Phillies Nation was among those in Clearwater to relay Sunday morning that the Phillies have, as expected, decided to keep Rafael Marchán as a backup catcher. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said the Phillies will designated Garrett Stubbs, who is out of minor-league options, for assignment if they aren't able to find a trade partner by Wednesday. It is still possible Stubbs ends up at Lehigh Valley if he clears waivers and the Phillies are able to outright his split contract. Stubbs would have to agree to that, though, because he has more than three years of MLB service time and alternatively can elect free agency.
Finally, Orion Kekering (right hamstring strain) is slated to open the season on the injured list. The 24-year-old indicated Saturday that he isn't far away from being ready, but ultimately the Phillies decided not to rush the righty back for Opening Day.
With all that acknowledged, the following appears to be the Opening Day roster for the Phillies, assuming nothing changes in the coming days. Notably, it seems the Phillies are going to carry four left-handed relievers to start the season.
C (2): J.T. Realmuto, Rafael Marchán
1B (1): Bryce Harper
2B (2): Bryson Stott, Edmundo Sosa
SS (1): Trea Turner
3B (1): Alec Bohm
IF/OF (1): Dylan Moore
OF (4): Brandon Marsh, Justin Crawford, Adolis García, Otto Kemp
DH (1): Kyle Schwarber
SP (5): Cristopher Sánchez, Aaron Nola, Jesús Luzardo, Taijuan Walker, Andrew Painter
RP (8): Jhoan Duran, José Alvarado, Brad Keller, Tanner Banks, Kyle Backhus, Jonathan Bowlan, Zach Pop, Tim Mayza
In addition to Kekering, The Athletic's Matt Gelb notes that Zack Wheeler (thoracic outlet decompression surgery) and Max Lazar (oblique) will also begin the season on the IL.
