Here’s a full rundown from Phillies Spring Training now that the World Baseball Classic is over

Venezuela has the trophy. The confetti has settled. Now it is time to get back to what actually matters around here because the Phillies fly north in one week and there is still a lot to figure out. Roster spots are on the line. Some guys are seizing the moment. Others are doing their best to lose a job they already have.

Phillies Spring Training Rundown:

Alec Bohm is shutting everyone up and good for him

The Phillies tried to trade this man in the offseason. Nobody felt good about him hitting cleanup and protecting Bryce Harper. The discourse around Bohm heading into camp was about as bleak as it gets for a guy who is still supposed to be a core piece of this lineup.

He responded with a 1.010 OPS, a .323 average, three homers, and nine RBI in 31 at-bats. That is the best spring training performance on the roster by a wide margin and it is exactly what this team needed to see. If that version of Bohm shows up in April the middle of this lineup looks genuinely dangerous. He has not been perfect but the production has been real and the confidence looks different. Good for him.

Bryson Stott tweaked his stance and the numbers are following

Defense was never Stott’s issue. It was always the bat and everybody knew it. He made some adjustments this spring and is hitting .345 with a 1.030 OPS. Small sample size, spring training, all the caveats apply. But the swing looks cleaner and when Stott is right he makes this lineup significantly better. Worth watching closely as Opening Day approaches.

Adolis García finally woke up

He was hitting .192 and making people nervous about the outfield gamble the Phillies took on him after two straight down years. Then he went 4-for-4 with a homer on Tuesday. That is the player they signed. Seeing that ceiling is still there was a genuine relief for an organization that needs production from this outfield position.

Bryan De La Cruz is making it impossible to ignore him

Fighting for a bench spot as the fourth outfielder, De La Cruz is slashing .324/.378/.441 through 12 games and has been the most consistent bat in camp. He is making the front office have a real conversation about the 26-man roster and he deserves to win that conversation.

Kyle Backhus has earned a bullpen spot

Six outings. Zero runs allowed. Six strikeouts. One walk. The side-throwing lefty has been the most dominant arm in camp and with the Phillies needing another lefty in the pen, he has done everything short of writing his own name on the roster. Give him the job.

JT Realmuto is fine

.890 OPS, .263 average. He will be exactly what he always is for the Phillies this season so we can keep it moving.

Brandon Marsh is 3-for-29 and is making Phillies fans uncomfortable

Ten strikeouts in 12 games. No hit since March 9. Yes it is spring training and yes there was a minor injury setback. But there is no version of this where watching your starting left fielder look this lost at the plate for three weeks is not at least a little alarming.

His platoon partner Otto Kemp has been noticeably better, hitting .225 with a .876 OPS, three homers, nine RBI, and ten runs scored. That platoon dynamic is worth paying attention to.

Justin Crawford cannot hit and Phillies fans know it

Forty-one at-bats. .244 average. .612 OPS. The Phillies are going to give him every leash available because he is the starting center fielder and they have no other option. But a .612 OPS is not a big league number and the sooner Crawford figures that out the better for everyone involved.

Trea Turner has two hits in March

Both of them came on March 12. In every other at-bat since February 28, he is 0-for-21. He is not striking out, he is hitting the ball, and it is spring training so none of this counts in any official capacity. But one of your three best hitters going 0-for-21 over a stretch in the preseason is something you at least make a note of before the calendar flips to April.

The Phillies bullpen is a mess behind the top six

Duran, Keller, Alvarado, Banks, Bowlan, and Backhus are the locks. That is six. With Kerkering’s delayed start there could be two more spots available on Opening Day.

The competition for those spots has been ugly. Trivino, Mayza, and Pop have combined to allow 15 runs in 19.2 innings. That is a 7.03 ERA split across three guys with varying levels of MLB experience.

Rule 5 pick Zachary McCambley has actually pitched well and is quietly making this harder to sort out. None of it inspires a ton of confidence in the back end of this bullpen if anything goes sideways during the season.

Phillies Starting Rotation

Zack Wheeler is on the IL recovering from thoracic outlet surgery and the best case scenario for his return is early May. Wheeler threw flat-ground sessions out to 120 feet and is expected to throw off a mound soon. An early May return is the best-case scenario.

Until then the Phillies are rolling with five starters and here is where each of them stands heading into Opening Day.

Cristopher Sanchez is the projected Opening Day starter and after what he did at the WBC for the Dominican Republic, nobody should be surprised. He threw one spring start before heading to the tournament and it was a clean two innings. He is coming off a 2025 season where he went 13-5 with a 2.50 ERA and 212 strikeouts, finishing as the NL Cy Young runner-up to Paul Skenes. He is the ace of this staff right now and he knows it.

Jesus Luzardo has been the most active starter in camp and the numbers back it up. Three starts, 11.2 innings, a 2.31 ERA, and 13 strikeouts. He finished seventh in NL Cy Young voting last year, just signed a five-year extension, and is coming into this season with something to prove on a legitimate contender. He has been the most consistent arm in Clearwater this spring.

Aaron Nola has one spring start on the books after pitching for Team Italy in the WBC. Four and a half ERA over two innings. The honest conversation about Nola right now is whether 2025 was an outlier or the beginning of a new trend. Judging on how Nola pitched in the WBC, he looks to be primed and ready for a Revenge Tour in 2026.

Andrew Painter has been fine over three spring starts. He did not allow a run over his first two outings covering five innings, then got hit around in his most recent start with five hits and three earned runs over 2⅔ innings while striking out four. The talent is real and the ceiling on this kid remains as high as anyone in the system. A 3.52 spring ERA is not a concern. It is spring training.

Taijuan Walker is obviously the most roster-volatile starter of the five. He has been solid this spring with a 1.29 ERA in seven innings across two starts. The issue is that once Wheeler comes back, Walker is the leading candidate to get bumped from the rotation. He needs to stay healthy and keep pitching well to maintain his spot as long as possible.

One week left. The Phillies head north soon and the real thing starts. About time.

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