March 20, 2025
It's not easy to have starting pitching depth.
Major League Baseball teams can only carry 26 players, and players typically only have three or fewer minor league options.
With 150 SP jobs across the league, it's not like there are a ton of guys ready to throw six quality innings just sitting around. It's also not like the Phillies can sign a bunch of extra starters and pay them millions of dollars to pitch in Triple-A just in case they're needed.
But usually, they're needed.
Last season, due to injuries and to a struggling Taijuan Walker, 12 different pitchers started a game for the Phils. They're far from 12 starters deep — in fact they're barely six starters deep.
All five of their projected starting pitchers for 2025 (Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Ranger Suárez, Cris Sánchez and Jesús Luzardo) are over 27. And with a week to go before Opening Day, one of them is already injured.
Suárez has back tightness, which seems innocent enough until you remember that the left-handed All-Star missed two stints of time due to back injuries last season. There's a chance he starts the year on the injured list, and if he does the pickins' are thin.
• Walker is under contract for two more years and $36 million, and was expected to be the long man out of the bullpen this season as he looks to find his form again. But that might happen sooner if Suárez misses any time. Walker had a dreadful outing Wednesday against the Yankees in spring training, allowing 11 base-runners and six runs over 3.2 innings.
• Joe Ross was signed this offseason to function as a swingman of sorts, having started 10 times last year for the Brewers. He's been decent at best this spring, with a 4.05 ERA over five appearances. He has not been stretched out as a starter yet.
• Matt Strahm was an All-Star out of the bullpen last season and started himself 10 times in 2023, but he's likely to begin the season on the injured list himself before returning to the roster as a valued left-handed specialist out of the bullpen.
• Andrew Painter is the Phillies' top pitching prospect but he has not been throwing in games this spring. The plan is to ramp up the 21-year-old in the summer for a potential addition to the rotation in June or July and into the postseason.
• The rest of the options are even less enticing. Tyler Phillips is 0-3 with an 8.38 ERA this spring. Michael Mercado has an 8.10 ERA in six spring appearances. Mick Abel, another highly-touted prospect, struggled and has already been demoted. Seth Johnson has also already been sent to Triple-A camp. Nabil Crismatt and Kyle Tyler were each journeyman depth signings, and each is still in big league camp. They have been solid (ERAs under 2.50) in 7.2 innings apiece respectively.
The Phillies, with a signifiant injury of any sort to a starting pitcher, could find themselves in a similar spot to the one they were in last season as they had no reliable arm to call on every fifth day. Hopefully the pitchers they have can hold things together until Painter is ready. Otherwise, there could be a whole lot of Walker and Ross starting games this spring.
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