Ethan Rauch

The 2024 MLB season is right around the corner, and the Philadelphia Phillies are contending for the NL East Crown and to return for their 3rd straight postseason. Following a tremendous heartbreak in Game 7 of the NLCS last year at Citizens Bank Park, the team is hungrier than ever to return to the promise land and finally help return the trophy to principal owner John Middleton.

This previous off-season wasn’t all that momentous compared to prior years–the team’s major moves being the re-signing and contract extensions of their two aces, Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola. The roster is by-in-large the same as it was in 2023, aside from a few personnel changes/additions, but that doesn’t mean the incentive to push further and fight harder isn’t there.

We’ll be seeing most of these players in the ballpark or on our TV/Phone/Computer screens all Spring and Summer long, so why not try to get to know them a little better? In this article, we will be taking a look at the Phillies’ projected 26 man roster and sharing one fun fact about each player you may or may not have known about.

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Infielders

1B Bryce Harper: The incumbent “Phranchise Player” and face of the team, Bryce Harper is entering the 2024 season as a full-time first baseman for the first time in his 13 year career. According to Jon Gugala of GQ, Bryce loves to read romance novels in his free time. Here’s Bryce’s exact quote from the article: “Well…I love [romance writer] Elle Kennedy. So you can look that up. I just read The Deal, and The Mistake, and then I’m on…I can’t think of the one I’m on right now. But I enjoy it. It helps me wind down. I get lost, so being able to get lost in something else makes you that much better the next day, because you’re getting away from your life and getting away from everything.”

2B Bryson Stott: Bryson Stott cemented himself as an everyday player for the Phillies in his second full season in 2023, slashing .280/.329/.419 in 151 games with 15 homeruns and 62 RBI. In May of 2023, Stott’s mother was profiled by Matt Gelb of The Athletic and readers learned that Stott grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada; his family was close with Bryce Harper’s during his youth, and that his mother is a teacher at Eldorado High School in Las Vegas.

SS Trea Turner: Trea Turner is entering the second year of his 11 year contract he signed with the Phillies in the 2022-2023 offseason, and he’s looking to capitalize on his majestic performance during the latter half of the 2023 season. The beginning and middle-parts of his 2023 season were rather underwhelming, but it was a standing ovation that the home crowd gave him during the fateful August 4th game against the Royals that helped him turn things around. As explained in the article, in the 48 games that followed this standing ovation, Turner hit 16 homeruns; compared to the 10 homeruns he had hit in the 107 games prior, this was a significant jump in production.

3B Alec Bohm: Alec Bohm had a similar moment to Trea in early 2022, when he famously mouthed to a teammate on the field (after an awful defensive inning on his behalf) that he “hated this place,” speaking about Philadelphia specifically. Alec took accountability for his statements, and the fans rewarded him by cheering him on in the games after, showing their support and acknowledging that he owned up to it. In 2023, Alec played 145 games. Out of the players who played at-least 110 games for the Phillies this season, Alec had the least amount of strikeouts (94).

C JT Realmuto: While JT Realmuto may not be the best catcher in baseball anymore, the things he gives to this team offensively, defensively, and the repertoire he has with the pitching staff are overall invaluable. According to this article by Brady Farkas of FanNation, in 2023 JT became the first Phillie since David Bell in 2004 to hit for the cycle, notching a single, double, triple, and homerun in the same game. He was also the first catcher to hit for the cycle since George Kottaras in 2011. In addition to these accomplishments, JT joined MLB Legend Lou Gehrig to have homered in an All-Star game, hit an inside-the-park-homerun in the postseason, and hit for the cycle.

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Outfielders

LF/DH Kyle Schwarber: Kyle Schwarber looks to be the full-time DH for the Phillies in 2024, barring any unfortunate circumstances with other members of the roster that may push him to his previously natural spot in LF. Known for his home-run prowess and his generally low batting average, it may not come as a surprise to many that in May of 2023, according to the this article published by Brady Farkas of FanNation, Kyle became the 7th player in MLB history to have 70% or more of their hits being home-runs in a calendar month. He had 10 hits in May; 7 of them were home-runs.

RF Nick Castellanos: Known at times for his straight-forward humor and down-to-earth answers to complex questions asked by reporters, Nick Castellanos has become a fan-favorite as he prepares for another full-season in Phillies pinstripes.  Nick made headlines around the 2023 all-star break when he was asked a question about who his favorite superhero was, and he elaborated that it was Scooby Doo. His reasons? Scooby Doo is a dog who can talk, and he solves mysteries to help people.

LF/CF Brandon Marsh: Brandon Marsh quickly engrossed himself into the Philadelphia fanbase’s heart following his arrival in a trade during the 2022 deadline, with his disheveled locks of long hair and his grizzly beard relating to fans like myself on an almost spiritual level. In this article written by Bruce Ewing of Yardbreaker, it’s explained that Brandon wets his hair 15 times per game on average.

CF Johan Rojas: Johan Rojas would be the youngest member of the Phillies if he makes the team out of Spring Training, and offensively he still has a lot of work to do to be properly ready to face MLB quality pitching. Defensively, on the other hand, Johan is shaping up to be a generational talent. According to the Fielding Bible’s 2023 DRS leaderboard, Johan had 15 defensive runs saved in just 57 games. For comparison sake, Daulton Varsho, the season’s league leader, had 29 DRS in 181 games. If Johan played the full year in MLB, he would’ve been on pace to have a historic defensive season.

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Bench

C Garrett Stubbs: Garrett Stubbs’ role for the 2024 in an ideal world will be rather minimal, as he’s the back-up catcher for one of the most durable and dependent catchers through all of MLB in JT Realmuto. Still, though, he provides a lot for the team in spite of his lack of offensive production when he does get into a game. In this article written by Matt Gelb of The Athletic, Stubbs’ manager Rob Thomson was quoted to say the following about Garrett’s presence: “He can really catch and he can throw,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “He can really call a game. And he’s very poised back there. Nothing really shakes him. And he can play small ball. He can bunt. He can do some things to create offense. Couple that with the clubhouse effect, and it’s a good piece.” Something you may not know about Garrett is that he played for the Israel team in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. In the opening round of this tournament, he hit a game-winning ground-rule double to help the Israel team beat Nicaragua.

IF Edmundo Sosa: Edmundo Sosa’s spot on the bench is secure, and he projects to get majority of his plate appearances against left-handed pitching while playing all over the diamond in the infield. Sosa was acquired by the team at the 2022 trade deadline, and has given the Phillies solid defense and offense (in limited capacities) ever since. You may know, or may have forgot at this point, that he was the one who made the out that sent the Phillies to the 2022 NLDS–their first playoff series win in over a decade.

OF Cristian Pache: Following the Phillies’ trade of outfielder Jake Cave to the Colorado Rockies, Cristian Pache’s spot on the MLB roster to begin the season was all but confirmed. Pache was acquired by the Phillies around this time last year, a few days before the 2023 season, and he showed flashes of brilliance both at the plate and with his defensive glove. This season, he’ll act as defensive insurance that can be subbed into games, get a spot start if need be, and as overall insurance for Johan Rojas if Rojas doesn’t look like he’s ready to hit MLB caliber pitching. Something you may not know about Cristian Pache is that he hit his first career home-run in the 2020 NLCS as a member of the Atlanta Braves, facing the Los Angeles Dodgers.

IF/OF Whit Merrifield: Whit Merrifield is one of the few significant additions the Phillies made this past offseason, and he comes in as a reliable veteran presence that could manage 2-3 starts a week depending on the present circumstances. Merrifield had primarily played for the Kansas City Royals for the majority of his career starting in 2016, until he was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays during the 2022 MLB Trade Deadline. The Phillies in 2024 will be the 3rd MLB team he plays for. To this day, Merrifield holds the Kansas City Royals consecutive-games-played franchise record at 553, a streak that ended on July 11, 2022.

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Starting Rotation

Zack Wheeler: Ever since signing his five year contract with the Phillies in the offseason of 2019-2020, Wheeler has established himself as one of the premiere aces in all of MLB. It was just recently that he signed a contract extension with the Phillies, ensuring that he will be spending the next four years (including 2024) as a member of the organization and, ideally, an anchor at the top of their rotation. In 2023, Zack Wheeler won his first career gold-glove award, showing that he can provide more than the simple, yet dazzling stats around his innings pitched, strikeouts, earned-run-average, and WAR.

Aaron Nola: Aaron Nola has been a foundational piece of the Phillies rotation since his debut for the team all the way back in 2015, and it appeared that this would continue for the next many years when it was announced last November that he signed a 7 year contract with the team. If Aaron fulfills this contract as a member of the Phillies by the end of it, he would have spent 16 years with the team that drafted him in 2014–a remarkable feat, in and of itself. However, something you may not know about him in the current day is that only one pitcher in the past seven years has pitched more innings than him: 2023 Cy Young award winner Gerrit Cole.

Ranger Suarez: Ranger Suarez broke out in the 2021 season where he pitched as a hybrid reliever/starter, adhering to the necessary demands of the team’s roster management. Ever since, he has been a prominent figure in the rotation–and he looks poised for a strong 2024 season following a dominant and fully-healthy Spring Training. In this article written by Brad Wakai of FanNation prior to Game 7 of the 2023 NLCS, Ranger’s dominance in the playoffs was highlighted, showing that he had the lowest ERA (0.94) out of any Starting Pitcher in MLB history that had started at-least five games.

Cristopher Sanchez: Cristopher Sanchez was basically a non-factor at this time last year, having not yet established himself at the MLB level. But after being re-called to MLB and jumping into the rotation due to injuries, Sanchez shocked both Phillies and MLB fans alike with his stellar performance from there on out until the end of the season. He more than doubled the amount of innings he had pitched in MLB the previous year of 2022, and in total pitched more innings at the MLB level in 2023 than he had pitched combined in the only other years he played up there in 2021 and 2022. Heading into 2024, Sanchez looks to build upon the success he had and cement himself as a key member of the rotation.

Spencer Turnbull: Spencer Turnbull signed his contract with the Phillies late in this previous off-season, coming into the organization as a projected SP depth piece/long-man out of the bullpen. Due to an injury with the 2023 long-man Dylan Covey, and a recent injury with Taijuan Walker, Turnbull projects to be the Phillies’ 5th starter for at-least the start of the season. You may not know that Spencer Turnbull has thrown one of the 322 No-Hitters in MLB history, when he pitched a complete game No-Hitter in 2021 as a member of the Detroit Tigers against the Seattle Mariners. At the time, this was the 5th No-Hitter in the 2021 season (and this was before June!).

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Bullpen

Jose Alvarado: Jose Alvarado was a wildcard for the Phillies entering 2022, and he started the season off abysmally as Ben Silver of FanNation wrote about in Alvarado’s 2022 season review. Following a demotion to the Minor Leagues, however, Jose came back better than ever, and has since been one of the most dominant relievers in all of baseball. His break-out and establishment as a staple in the back end of the Phillies bullpen may not even be the most interesting thing to have come out about Jose in the recent years, which might come off as a surprise to some. In this article published by Matthew Ritchie of MLB.com last October, Jose’s expertise as a craftsman and amateur jeweler was given the spotlight. Throughout the season, Jose hand-made necklaces with colored beads for his coaches and teammates.

Matt Strahm: Matt Strahm signed a two year deal with the Phillies in the 2022-2023 offseason, and he’s played a significant role in the bullpen for the team ever since. Due to necessity, Strahm started the 2023 season as a starter — and he thrived in that role before being able to return back to the bullpen for the remainder of the season. In his free time, he has a baseball card collecting hobby that he’s turned into a television show called “The Card Life” that airs episodes on “27 regional sports networks across the country.”

Gregory Soto: The Phillies traded for Gregory Soto in early 2023 in a deal that sent Donny Sands, Matt Vierling, and Nick Maton to the Detroit Tigers. Soto didn’t necessarily have the best year for the Phillies in 2023, finishing with a 4.62 ERA in 60 innings, but Detroit’s return on their investment hasn’t been the strongest, either. In this article written by Eric Moratelli of TBOH, it’s mentioned how Nick Maton was DFA’d by Detroit in early February of this year. Donny Sands hasn’t done anything significant for the Tigers at the MLB level, and while Matt Vierling made some improvements in 2023, they weren’t to the level that the Tigers probably would have wanted in exchange for the player they had given up for Vierling/Sands/Maton.

Jeff Hoffman: Jeff Hoffman signed a minor league contract with the Phillies in early April 2023, and didn’t look as if he would be a significant player for the team at the beginning of the 2023 MLB campaign. But injuries in the bullpen throughout the season propelled the Phillies’ front office executives to call him up, and it turned out to be a decision well-made. Hoffman’s 2023 season was remarkable on many fronts, considering how and when he was brought into the organization and the extensive history of non-success he had endured through professional baseball until then. You may not know that he was actually, once upon a time, one of the key players sent from the Toronto Blue Jays to the Colorado Rockies in the famous 2015 Troy Tulowitzki trade.

Seranthony Dominguez: It was rather recently, as few as five years ago, that Seranthony Dominguez’s future with the Phillies appeared bleak. Following turbulent circumstances surrounding an injury to his UCL he suffered in May of 2019, Seranthony was not able to get the Tommy John surgery he needed until the following year. He effectively missed three and a half total seasons before making a full-time return to the Phillies in 2022, a season in which he once again established himself as a key player and reliable figure of the bullpen. You may not know that Seranthony has been with the Phillies organization dating all the way back to 2011, when he signed with the team as an international free agent. He didn’t make his MLB debut, however, until 2018.

Yunior Marte: Yunior Marte projects to be a depth piece for the Phillies’ bullpen, someone to be called upon in times of need due to injuries or other extraneous circumstances. He’s not a fantastic option, but for the role he’s being asked to play, he can be serviceable if his appearances at MLB are kept at a minimum (and/or he continues to develop as the Phillies’ brass wants him to). Marte notched his first career save last season on June 18th against the Oakland Athletics.

Luis Ortiz: Luis Ortiz will be a depth piece for the long-man role in 2024, a similar situation to that of Yunior Marte’s. He did well in a small sample size in 2023, and if his usage is kept relatively the same, there’s no reason to not expect him to be a somewhat reliable depth piece who comes up in times of need and can give the team an inning or two. Ortiz was once upon a time a first-round draft pick for the Texas Rangers, and he was a member of the 2013 18-and-under USA national baseball team that won gold. He also has won the World Cup MVP for the tournament with his role as the team’s closing pitcher.

Connor Brogdon: Connor Brogdon became a full-time member of the Phillies bullpen in 2021, and following the 2022 season it looked as if he had cemented himself as a reliable middle-reliever for years to come. However, a rather rough 2023 season forced the team to re-consider their commitment to Brogdon, and now as things stand he appears to be somewhat of a wildcard for the team’s bullpen outlook in 2024. However, there is reason to believe that there is still the potential for greatness in Brogdon’s active repertoire. Following their Cinderella Run to the 2022 World Series, Brogdon ended the playoffs having pitched in 7 games, striking out 13 in 8.2 IP, with a superbly low ERA of 2.08. Brogdon’s performance in 2024 between both MLB and MiLB will add more clarity as to whether or not he can return to this dominant form.