Opening day has arrived and Phillies officially set their roster originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Opening day has arrived and the Phillies begin their 2023 season in Texas against a familiar opponent in Jacob deGrom.
The Rangers spent big for a second straight winter, adding deGrom and Nate Eovaldi to the top of their rotation. An offseason ago, they signed middle infielders Corey Seager and Marcus Semien to contracts worth a combined $500 million. Seager and first baseman Nathaniel Lowe should be be big beneficiaries of the elimination of the shift.
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Pitching matchups for the series are Aaron Nola vs. deGrom in Game 1, Zack Wheeler vs. Eovaldi in Game 2 and a battle of lefties Bailey Falter and Martin Perez in Game 3. It will be Nola's sixth consecutive opening-day start with the Phillies (and potentially his last).
Taijuan Walker will start the Phillies' series opener at Yankee Stadium on Monday, followed by Bailey Falter Tuesday and Nola Wednesday. Those are the first two series before the Phillies open at home against the Reds next Thursday. Wheeler would be in line to start that game.
The Phillies set their opening day roster Thursday morning, though it did not include Cristian Pache. The 24-year-old center fielder hasn't yet reported after being acquired from the Oakland Athletics Wednesday afternoon. Pache is a former top prospect of the Braves with premium defensive ability who will get at-bats against left-handers. Brandon Marsh is locked in as the starter in CF and will play the majority of the time. The Phillies want to use Marsh more against lefties, but Pache gives them another above-average defensive option and one who can hit from the right side.
Pache is out of minor-league options so he'll be added to the roster when he arrives. It could cost Dalton Guthrie his spot but Guthrie made the opening day 26.
In the bullpen, right-hander Yunior Marte and lefty Andrew Vasquez claimed the final two spots. Marte pitched well throughout spring training with a slider and high-90s fastball. Vasquez, who also came over from the Giants this offseason, may have had his case aided by the Phillies' need to use Strahm in the rotation early in the season. Strahm was originally signed to be a second left-hander in the bullpen. But spring training elbow injuries to Ranger Suarez and Andrew Painter forced the Phillies to dip further into their depth than they'd have liked this early in the year.
Here is the opening day roster:
Catchers (2): J.T. Realmuto, Garrett Stubbs
Infielders (6): Darick Hall, Bryson Stott, Alec Bohm, Trea Turner, Edmundo Sosa, Josh Harrison
Outfielders (5): Kyle Schwarber, Brandon Marsh, Nick Castellanos, Jake Cave, Dalton Guthrie
Starting pitchers (5): Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler, Taijuan Walker, Bailey Falter (LH), Matt Strahm (LH)
Relievers (8): Seranthony Dominguez, Jose Alvarado (LH), Gregory Soto (LH), Craig Kimbrel, Connor Brogdon, Andrew Bellatti, Yunior Marte, Andrew Vasquez (LH)
Bryce Harper (elbow), Suarez (elbow), Nick Nelson (hamstring) and Cristopher Sanchez (triceps) open the season on the injured list.
Hoskins was placed on the 60-day IL Wednesday to make room on the 40-man roster for Pache.
Rafael Marchan (right hand) was placed on the 60-day IL to make room on the 40-man for Rule 5 pick Noah Song. Song was reinstated from the military list and placed on the 15-day injured list with a low back strain.
