The Phillies are mostly running back the same squad as last year, but with a few key adjustments.<\/p>\n
Major League Signings<\/p>\n
2026 spending (not including Pop): $66MM
Total spending (not including Pop): $227MM<\/p>\n
Trades and Claims<\/p>\n
Option Decisions<\/p>\n
Notable Minor League Signings<\/p>\n
Liover Peguero<\/a>, Bryan De La Cruz<\/a>, Michael Mercado<\/a>, Bryse Wilson<\/a>, Levi Stoudt<\/a>, Mark Kolozsvary<\/a>, Tucker Davidson<\/a>, G\u00e9nesis Cabrera<\/a>, Tim Mayza<\/a>, Dylan Moore<\/a>, Daniel Robert<\/a>, Lou Trivino<\/a>, Connor Gillispie<\/a><\/p>\n Extensions<\/p>\n Notable Losses<\/p>\n The Phillies went into the winter with a batch of notable players reaching free agency. Kyle Schwarber<\/a>, J.T. Realmuto<\/a>, Ranger Su\u00e1rez<\/a> and Harrison Bader<\/a> were among the players heading to the open market. The Phils generally run one of the top payrolls in the league, but it never seemed like they would have the money to bring back all of them.<\/p>\n Schwarber and Realmuto felt like the priorities. Losing Su\u00e1rez would hurt the rotation, but the Phils could still hope for a good starting group without him. There would be some extra risk because Zack Wheeler<\/a> required surgery to address thoracic outlet syndrome, but he is expected back fairly early in the 2026 season. Once he is back, four spots would be taken by Wheeler, Aaron Nola<\/a>, Cristopher S\u00e1nchez<\/a> and Jes\u00fas Luzardo<\/a>. The final spot could then come down to a battle between Taijuan Walker<\/a> and Andrew Painter<\/a>. Painter still has options and could be sent to Triple-A if he doesn\u2019t win that battle. Walker has been nudged into a long relief role in the past and could wind up there again.<\/p>\n In center field, the Phils seemed committed to giving Justin Crawford<\/a> a shot. He was pushing for a promotion in 2025 until they acquired Bader at the deadline. He is still not on the 40-man roster, but the Phils have more or less handed him the job<\/a> for 2026. He has a particularly contact- and speed-based approach. He\u2019s never hit ten home runs in a season but puts the ball in play and lets his legs do the work.<\/p>\n There is risk in relying on prospects with no major league experience but those are better fallback plans than the Phils had for the other spots. They didn\u2019t have an everyday catcher waiting to take over for Realmuto and certainly didn\u2019t have a Schwarber-esque bat to plug into the DH spot.<\/p>\n Schwarber\u2019s market was hot, unsurprising for a guy who has been so good at the plate in recent years. It felt like the Phillies would match whatever other clubs were willing to offer \u2014 and that is exactly how it played out. The Pirates, shockingly, put forth an offer<\/a> in the $120-125MM range over four years. The Orioles reportedly pushed the bidding up to $150MM<\/a> over five years but the Phils got it done at that price. It\u2019s a historic deal. Putting aside Shohei Ohtani<\/a>, no primary designated hitter had earned a nine-figure deal in free agency before. No hitter, regardless of position, had reached nine figures going into his age-33 season.<\/p>\n For a 33-year-old DH to blow past both of those benchmarks and get to $150MM showcases just how good Schwarber has been. He just crushed 56 home runs last year while continuing to run elite walk rates. He has also erased his previous platoon issues, as he was actually better against lefties in both 2024 and 2025.<\/p>\n Bringing back Schwarber left Realmuto as the primary item on the to-do list but the Phils explored a different path. With Bo Bichette<\/a> lingering unsigned into January, the Phils tried to take advantage by offering him a seven-year deal<\/a> worth almost $200M. He decided to opt for the short-term route with high average annual values, accepting a three-year deal from the Mets worth $126MM with opt-outs.<\/p>\n With the Phils having Trea Turner<\/a> and Bryson Stott<\/a> in their middle infield, it seemed the plan was to put Bichette at third. The Phils could have then traded Alec Bohm<\/a> and his $10.2MM salary, perhaps for catching. The Bichette offer was worth about $28MM annually, so they would have been adding about $18MM to the payroll if they were able to flip Bohm for a league minimum player or prospect. When Bichette went elsewhere, the Phils quickly turned to Realmuto and gave him $45MM over three years, or $15MM annually.<\/p>\n Bringing back Schwarber and Realmuto is nice, but there\u2019s a bit of risk in continually committing to an aging roster. Both guys are now signed through their respective age-37 seasons. Turner and Bryce Harper<\/a> are going into their age-33 seasons and still under contract into the next decade. Wheeler and Nola are in their mid-30s as well. There\u2019s a financial aspect in hoping for Crawford and Painter to carve out roles on the 2026 club, but they also need some young guys to step up in order to avoid getting blindsided by the aging curve.<\/p>\n One area where change seemed to be guaranteed was right field. Manager Rob Thomson and Nick Castellanos<\/a> had clashed a few times<\/a> in the 2025 season. The organization seemed to have no questions about where they stood in terms of that spat. Within a few days of the Phils being eliminated from the playoffs, it was reported<\/a> that Thomson would be back for 2026. He and the Phils would sign an extension in December.<\/p>\n Castellanos, on the other hand, was out the door. In mid-October, just a few days after the report of Thomson staying, it was reported<\/a> that the Phils were going to move on from Castellanos. They held onto him throughout the winter to see if a trade could come together but it never did. He was released in February, just before camps opened for spring training.<\/p>\n In the interim, they had replaced him with Adolis Garc\u00eda<\/a>. He had been non-tendered by the Rangers after two down years. Castellanos is one of the worst outfield defenders in the league and Garc\u00eda is pretty good with the glove, so he\u2019ll certainly be an upgrade in that department. His offense is more questionable, as he is coming off a dismal .227\/.271\/.394 showing. He\u2019s not too far removed from a 39-homer season in 2023 but is now 33 years old. Helping him get back on track will be pivotal to the Phillies\u2019 success.<\/p>\n There was another bit of internal drama, but with no real consequences. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski made some disparaging remarks<\/a> about Harper\u2019s 2025 season, which annoyed Harper and led to some brief trade rumors. Those rumors were quickly shot down and Dombrowski suggested<\/a> the proverbial water had passed under the bridge.<\/p>\n A third note of clubhouse discord seemed to impact the club\u2019s bullpen plans. Left-hander Matt Strahm<\/a> was traded to the Royals for right-hander Jonathan Bowlan<\/a>\u00a0on Dec. 19. Dombrowski framed it as simply a product of circumstances. Bowlan is less established than Strahm, but he has big stuff, is still making the league minimum and can be controlled for six years. Strahm had one season left on his deal and will make $7.5MM in 2026. The Phils had three lefty relievers at the start of the winter, with Jos\u00e9 Alvarado<\/a> and Tanner Banks<\/a> being the other two. But in the days after the trade, it was reported<\/a> that the Phils were motivated to move Strahm because he had regularly clashed with team officials.<\/p>\n Regardless of the motivation, a key piece of the bullpen had been subtracted. The Phils then used free agency to bolster the group, signing Brad Keller<\/a> to a two-year deal worth $22MM. Keller was once a decent starter with the Royals but was largely in the injury wilderness in 2023 and 2024. He had a tremendous bounceback season out of the Cubs\u2019 bullpen in 2025, tossing 69 2\/3 innings with a 2.07 earned run average, 27.2% strikeout rate, 8% walk rate and 56.1% ground ball rate. Some clubs were interested in putting Keller back in a starting role but the Phils plan to deploy him as a reliever.<\/p>\n A few more notable developments popped up during spring training. Outfielder Johan Rojas<\/a> has received an 80-game suspension after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug. He is the third member of the 2025 Phillies to receive a PED suspension, alongside Alvarado and Max Kepler<\/a>. With the Phils giving Crawford the center field opportunity to start the season, Rojas was going to be a potential fallback plan if Crawford struggled.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not a devastating loss, but it gives the Phils a bit less of a safety net in a position where they are taking a risk. Perhaps they\u2019ll look to add some center field depth in the coming weeks as spring training ends and other clubs make their cuts, which will send some players to the waiver wire or back to free agency.<\/p>\n