Phillies appear to have their opening day roster originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
⚾ The Phillies have whittled down their roster to the 28 that could be the opening day group later this week.
Bryson Stott will make the team. So, too, will Alec Bohm. The Phillies will need to free up a spot on the 40-man roster for Stott.
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Nothing is set in stone and things could change between now and Thursday when rosters must be officially submitted to the commissioner's office, but the Phils made several decisions after their final home spring training game to solidify spots.
Reliever Connor Brogdon, whose velocity had been down throughout camp, was up to 95 mph Tuesday with his fastball, the highest it's been all spring. He hit 95 multiple times and the clean outing was enough to convince manager Joe Girardi he was ready to go. Jose Alvarado had missed time in camp with a minor neck issue but he made it onto the mound for a scoreless inning Sunday with his typical high-90s heat. He'll be ready to go, too.
Nick Maton, on the bubble of a roster that included both Stott and Bohm, was optioned to Triple A Tuesday afternoon. Pitchers Andrew Bellatti and Michael Kelly were reassigned to minor-league camp.
Teams will have 28-man rosters until May 1, when they revert to 26. Here's what the Phillies' 2022 opening day roster looks like as of now:
Catcher (2): J.T. Realmuto, Garrett Stubbs
Infield (6): Rhys Hoskins, Jean Segura, Didi Gregorius, Bryson Stott, Alec Bohm, Johan Camargo
Outfield (5): Bryce Harper, Nick Castellanos, Kyle Schwarber, Mickey Moniak, Matt Vierling
Starting pitchers (5): Aaron Nola, Kyle Gibson, Zach Eflin, Ranger Suarez, Zack Wheeler
Relievers (10): Corey Knebel, Brad Hand, Jeurys Familia, Seranthony Dominguez, Jose Alvarado, Connor Brogdon, Bailey Falter, Nick Nelson, Damon Jones, Cristopher Sanchez
That's five right-handers (Knebel, Familia, Dominguez, Brogdon, Nelson) and five left-handers (Hand, Alvarado, Falter, Jones, Sanchez).
It seemed until the last few days that the Phillies would open up with 11 relievers and one fewer bench bat, but they have been dealing with uncertainty at the end of their pitching staff. Recently acquired right-hander James Norwood has been away from the team for personal reasons. Lefty Ryan Sherriff has been dealing with a biceps injury. Brogdon and Alvarado weren't locks until the last 48 hours.
The Phillies have one spring training game left Wednesday at Tropicana Field against the Rays. Wheeler, who experienced shoulder soreness in December that put him behind schedule and then dealt with an illness during camp, has pitched only once this spring in an intrasquad game. He will face hitters in Florida Thursday on his regular day. That lines him up to make his first start in the Phillies' fifth game of the season next Tuesday against the Mets.
The Phils will go Nola, Gibson, Eflin, Suarez and Wheeler in that order to begin the season.
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