The Phillies begin their season in Texas against the Rangers on Thursday.
The wait is over! The Phillies will begin to play real games that count on Thursday at 4:05. The clubhouse, front office, ownership, and fanbase have been rejuvenated after the 2022 World Series run. There is a buzz around baseball again in Philadelphia. The 2023 team will look to keep that buzz alive.
Making a run at a World Series championship is no easy task. The Phillies have already been dealt some bad news on the injury front. First, Bryce Harper had Tommy John surgery and will not play until sometime in June or July, likely. Then, top prospect, Andrew Painter injured his UCL in his throwing elbow and was shut down for a month. Key starting pitcher, Ranger Suárez will also miss about a month with forearm soreness. Then first baseman— Rhys Hoskins— tore his ACL in his left knee and will need surgery. He will miss the 2023 season— his contract year.
Enough with the sad news. The Phillies are still in a good place to, not just make the postseason, but make another deep run if things go their way. The addition of Trea Turner improves the offense. The club hopes that Nick Castellanos improves from last year. The Phillies will also look to Alec Bohm to increase his power to make up for the Hoskins injury.
It is a long season, and many things can happen, but let’s look at Thursday— the first game of 162 that will determine the mood of Phillies fans until October.
Starting pitchers
The Opening Day starting pitching matchup is a familiar one. The Phillies will send Aaron Nola to the mound for his sixth straight Opening Day start. Nola has earned the opportunity through his play and his tenure with the team. Nola has been with the Phillies through some tough years and now he enters the final year of his contract. He will look to lead the Phillies to another World Series. If he does perform well as he has over much of his career, he is in for a mega-payday this offseason— from the Phillies or someone else.
Nola will be opposed by familiar ace, Jacob deGrom. deGrom is in the first year of his five-year deal with the Texas Rangers. The Phillies should be used to facing the former divisional foe as he pitched for the New York Mets since 2014. Familiarity is not enough to beat deGrom. He has long been considered one of the best, if not the best pitcher in baseball. The Phillies will need to string together some hits to get him out of the game.
Potential Phillies lineup
The Phillies lineup could change quite a bit this season until Harper comes back from his injury. With the addition of the designated hitter in the National League prior to the 2022 season, the Phillies have some options to use in the role until Harper returns. The lineups figure to be based on matchups. Manager, Rob Thomson, can also use the designated hitter role to get some of his regular players a rest from defense but not lose their bat in the order. So how might Thomson configure the lineup tomorrow? It is anyone’s guess, but if the lineups used in the final spring training games are any indication, it may look something like this:
- R Trea Turner, SS
- L Kyle Schwarber, LF
- R J.T. Realmuto, C
- L Darick Hall, 1B
- R Nick Castellanos, RF
- L Bryson Stott, 2B
- R Alec Bohm, 3B
- L Brandon Marsh, CF
- L Jake Cave, DH
It is presumable that a left-handed hitter like Cave would play against the right-handed deGrom. Thomson could also opt to move Cave up in the order and move Stott or Marsh down. He will want to keep a balanced lineup without many consecutive left-handed or right-handed hitters in a row.
Other news and notes
The Phillies announced on Wednesday afternoon that they acquired Cristian Pache from the Oakland A’s. Pache is a 24-year-old outfielder who is known for his defense. To this point in Pache’s career, the right-handed hitter has not been much of an offensive strength. He will add some outfield depth to the Phillies club. Pache was originally with the Atlanta Braves and was a top rated prospect but was traded for Matt Olson.
Zack Wheeler will start for the Phillies in game two of the season on Saturday after the off day on Friday. Wheeler taking the mound on Saturday lines him up to be the probable starter for the Phillies’ home opener on Thursday, April 6th at Citizen’s Bank Park.
The 2023 season is upon us. The Phillies have set high standards and will look to get off to a quick start despite the injuries that have plagued the team early on. The club will look to build on it’s 2022 success and make another deep postseason run.
