Opening day has arrived and the Phillies have officially settled 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 a second straight winter big, adding deGrom and Nate Eovaldi to the front of their rotation. Prior to an offseason, they signed middle infielders Corey Seager and Marcus Semien in combined deals worth $500 million. Seager and first baseman Nathaniel Lowe should be big beneficiaries of the move’s elimination.
The matchups for the series are Aaron Nola vs. deGrom in Game 1, Zack Wheeler vs. Eovaldi in Game 2, and a battle of left-handers Bailey Falter and Martin Perez in Game 3. It will be Nola’s sixth straight opening day start with the Phillies (and possibly his last).
Taijuan Walker will open the Phillies series opener at Yankee Stadium on Monday, followed by Bailey Falter on Tuesday and Nola on Wednesday. Those are the first two series before the Phillies take on the Reds at home next Thursday. Wheeler would be in line to start this game.
The Phillies finalized their lineup for Opening Day Thursday morning, although Cristian Pache was absent. The 24-year-old midfielder has yet to come forward acquired by the Oakland Athletics Wednesday afternoon. Pache is a former Braves top pick with top-notch defensive skills who will face left-handers. Brandon Marsh is the starter in CF and will play most of the time. The Phillies want to use Marsh more against lefties, but Pache gives them another above-average defensive option and one that can hit from the right.
Pache has run out of minor league options so he will be added to the roster when he arrives. It could cost Dalton Guthrie his spot, but Guthrie made opening day 26th.
In the bullpen, right-hander Yunior Marte and left-hander Andrew Vasquez took the bottom two spots. Marte did well throughout spring practice with a slider and a high 90s fastball. Vasquez, who also came off the Giants this offseason, may have bolstered his case with the Phillies’ need to use Strahm on the rotation early in the season. Strahm was originally signed as the second left-hander in the bullpen. But spring training elbow injuries to Ranger Suarez and Andrew Painter forced the Phillies to delve further into their depths than they would have liked earlier in the year.
Here is the lineup for opening day:
catcher (2): JT Realmuto, Garrett Stubbs
Infielders (6): Darick Hall, Bryson Stott, Alec Bohm, Trea Turner, Edmundo Sosa, Josh Harrison
outfield player (5): Kyle Schwarber, Brandon Marsh, Nick Castellanos, Jake Cave, Dalton Guthrie
Starting Pitchers (5): Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler, Taijuan Walker, Bailey Falter (left), Matt Strahm (left)
helper (8): Seranthony Dominguez, Jose Alvarado (LH), Gregory Soto (LH), Craig Kimbrel, Connor Brogdon, Andrew Bellatti, Yunior Marte, Andrew Vasquez (LH)
Bryce Harper (elbow), Rhys Hoskins (ruptured cruciate ligament), Suarez (elbow), Nick Nelson (hamstring), Rafael Marchan (right hand) and Cristopher Sanchez (triceps) open the season on the injured list. Hoskins was placed on 60-day IL Wednesday to make room on the 40-man list for Pache. Noah Song, rule 5 selection, was reinstated by the military list and placed on the 15-day injured list with a back strain.
Source : sports.yahoo.com