Sep 29, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner (7) celebrates scoring a run with left fielder Brandon Marsh (16) against the Washington Nationals during the first inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images
The Phillies will open the 2025 season at 4:05 against the Washington Nationals on March 27. Lefty MacKenzie Gore will get the ball for the Nats. Here's the second look at what Rob Thomson's Opening Day lineup could look like at Nationals Park.
Thomson has continued to give looks to both Turner and Kyle Schwarber in the leadoff spot this spring, so it perhaps isn't a 100% lock that there will be a shakeup at the top of the lineup to begin the season.
But Thomson opened the door to the possibility of someone other than Schwarber leading off last October in his year-end press conference. At least to start the season, the guess here is it will be Turner.
Harper will begin his seventh season as a Phillie against the club that he spent the first seven campaigns of his illustrious career with.
Here are his numbers between the two teams:
With Nationals (927 games, 3,957 plate appearances): .279/.388/.512 with 184 home runs, 521 RBIs, .900 OPS and 28.7 WAR
With Phillies (726 games, 3,128 plate appearances): .285/.391/.533 with 152 home runs, 455 RBIs, .924 OPS and 23.8 WAR
Harper is most comfortable hitting third, but he'll surely be able to be effective hitting second if that's what proves to be best for the team.
Bohm has responded to an offseason of trade rumors by putting together a strong spring, as he's hitting .344 with three home runs in 11 Grapefruit League games.
We will see whether he's able to better manage his emotions when things aren't going his way, but all indications this spring have been that Bohm will continue to be a strong run producer in 2025 after consecutive seasons of posting 97 RBIs.
If Turner clicks at the leadoff spot, Schwarber hitting cleanup could prove to be the best setup for the Phillies because it could provide him with more opportunities to come up with runners on base.
Although if you said that Schwarber was the primary leadoff hitter again by Fourth of July, that would hardly be a surprise. He's comfortable in that spot and the Phillies have won a ton of games in recent years with the threat of him giving them an early 1-0 lead at the top of the order.
What version of Castellanos will the Phillies get to begin the season?
Castellanos got off to an ice-cold start a year ago, hitting just .193 with 28 strikeouts and a .521 OPS in March/April.
However, no Phillies hitter finished the season hotter than him. Not only did Castellanos post an .839 OPS after the All-Star Game, but he hit .412 in 17 at-bats against the New York Mets in the NLDS.
From @AntSanPhilly: Phillies have roster decisions looming as Spring Training winds downhttps://t.co/8nqSOqRkBf
You can question the logic in adding another left-handed hitter to the lineup this past offseason, but Kepler has looked tremendous this spring, for whatever it's worth.
Health will be the biggest question with Kepler, but he's hit .346 with three home runs and nine RBIs in Grapefruit League play, looking very much like he will bring another element to the lineup this season.
The three-time All-Star is entering a contract year, and will turn 34 on Tuesday. How he performs this year will determine what type of contract he gets for 2026, and whether it's from the Phillies or someone else.
He's probably no longer at the height of his powers, but has still has posted a .757 OPS over the last two seasons and remains a threat at throwing out would-be basestealers. Even a diminished version of Realmuto is a very valuable catcher.
Stott played through a nerve issue in his right elbow last season that he initially injured during a series in Miami in mid-May.
How much did the elbow injury contribute to what was a disappointing offensive season for the former first-round pick? Why didn't the Phillies shut him down at any point? Why didn't we hear about Stott's elbow until after the season? All of these are fair questions.
The bottom line is that with questions about how many more years Turner will spend at shortstop, Stott needs to take a massive step forward offensively in 2025.
Marsh will get an opportunity to start against a tough lefty on Opening Day in Gore, and the Phillies would be wise to find out once and for all whether he can become playable against southpaws early in 2025.
Two seasons ago, Marsh appeared to be turning the corner when he hit .229 with a .717 OPS in 110 plate appearances against lefties. However, he was unplayable against left-handed pitching last year, hitting .192 with 33 strikeouts and a .552 OPS over 90 plate appearances.
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