Philadelphia Phillies Truck Day is Monday, February 3rd, when the team will pack up all the essentials and hit the road for Clearwater, Florida to get ready for spring training. The majority of the roster is set. You know the names: Harper, Schwarber, Castellanos. But there are still position battles to be had. The Phillies still need to determine who will back up three-time All-Star, J.T. Realmuto, and give him and his knees a breather. Another question is the final bench spot.
Max Kepler will be another Merrifield/Hays signing for the Phillies
I was praying that Dave Dombrowski was going to make a splash this offseason and sign an elite outfielder who gets on base and can provide just enough pop. With that, they signed Max Kepler. In my opinion, he is the epitome of a league-average to below-average player with a career slash line of .237/.318/.429.
The Phillies believe he could be their everyday left fielder. Sure, just not a very good one. Regardless, Kepler is a lefty and although his splits last season were better against lefties, they still were very pedestrian. Which brings me to Weston Wilson.
Weston Wilson needs to be on the Opening Day roster
When you hear the name Weston Wilson, what comes to mind? A country singer, a gunslinger, or a right-handed bat that mashes left-handed pitching? For a guy who only has 120 plate appearances at the major league level, he’s been nothing short of impressive.
Wilson mashes left-handed pitching, period. Last season against lefties, he had a 1.026 OPS with a .341 average. There is no reason Max Kepler should be facing left-handed pitchers when you have Weston Wilson.
Now, Wilson does have options left which is going to play a huge role in whether he makes the Opening Day roster or if Kody Clemens and Buddy Kennedy make a better case for themselves. In my opinion, Weston Wilson has the highest upside between those three players.
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Who will back up J.T. Realmuto?
The Phillies backup catcher for the last three years has been the “vibes” guy. He makes the playlists, he wears the overalls and he loves to party. Everyone loves Garrett Stubbs in Philadelphia, myself included. Coming to take his job is a 25-year-old Venezuelan who only played in 17 games last season. Marchan was placed on the 60-day injured list to begin the 2023 season after suffering a fractured right hamate bone in spring training.
Marchan made the most of his opportunities last season by recording a 147 OPS+ and almost hitting .300. Stubbs has one option remaining while Marchan has none left which means we may see a new backup catcher behind Realmuto to start the season.
