The game is the same and so are the players.
The 2025 season is upon us. We’ll preview the upcoming year by going around the diamond and look at how the Phillies are stacking up both at the major league level and down on the farm.
Current depth chart (via Fangraphs)
First Base
MLB – Bryce Harper
AAA – Kody Clemens, Carson Taylor
AA – Keaton Anthony
A+ – Felix Reyes, Eduardo Lopez
A – Rickardo Perez
Second Base
MLB – Bryson Stott, Buddy Kennedy
AAA – Rodolfo Castro, Christian Arroyo, Rafael Lantigua
AA – Trent Farquhar
A+ – Devin Saltiban
A – Aroon Escobar, Juan Villavicencio, Brady Day
Third Base
MLB – Alec Bohm
AAA – Otto Kemp, Luis Verdugo
AA – Zach Arnold
A+ – Carson DeMartini, Bryson Ware, Diego Gonzalez
A – Nikau Pouaka-Grego, Nolan Beltran
Shortstop
MLB – Trea Turner, Edmundo Sosa
AAA – Robert Moore
AA – Aidan Miller, Erick Brito
A+ – Bryan Rincon
Position battles during spring training
The starting four of Harper, Stott, Bohm and Turner are firmly entrenched, with Stott the only possible platoon candidate. Sosa is a lock to make the bench behind them as he’s the only other veteran in camp with significant experience at shortstop. With backup catcher and a fourth outfielder a given, that leaves 1-2 spots for Kennedy, Arroyo and Clemens to battle it out over. Clemens may have an edge as he gives them a left-handed pinch hitter off the bench and can spell Harper at first, but more than likely we will see different configurations ferried back and forth from Lehigh Valley throughout April and May.
Important contract details
We’ll all be long dead before Harper and Turner’s contracts expire (fingers crossed!). Bohm’s final year of arbitration eligibility is upcoming in 2026 and Stott is still three years away from free agency. With drastic departures from their 2024 performances, either to the good or to the bad, they could both be in line for extensions or else changes of scenery in the not too distant future.
Overview
The Phillies are banking on Harper continuing to make his contract look like a steal as well as Turner maintaining his health and All Star-level play at the top of the batting order.
After slashing .280/.329/.419 in 2023, Stott’s offensive output took a dip in 2024 to the tune of .245/.315/.356. While some positive regression at the plate would be nice, the truth is that Stott plays a generally defense premium position, is one of the 5-10 best fielders in that regard, and is your 7th or 8th best hitter. If you’re depending on him for a ton of offense, things may be going pear-shaped.
Sosa’s above-average replacement level production filling in for an injured Turner and to a later, lesser extent, Bohm, was an underemphasized ingredient to the sustained success of the team in the regular season. Fewer opportunities for him this year would likely portend better results out of the starters, but Sosa has proven to be one of the more valuable utilitymen in the game when called upon.
Bohm’s first half production last year (33 doubles, 70 RBI, .295/.348/.482) was a big reason the Phillies coasted into the All Star break with the best record in baseball. His second half drop-off (11 doubles, 27 RBI, .251/.299/.382) was part of the reason they were a .500 team the rest of the way. The caveat from which the most optimism should be extracted is that he missed time in September with a left wrist injury that likely impacted his performance before and after his IL stint. A healthy, productive season from Bohm in the middle of the lineup could again be one of the determining factors to the overall success of the team.
According to Fangraphs’ Top 30 Prospects list for the Phillies, there are seven infielders waiting in the wings, all under the age of 23. The gem of that crop is shortstop, Aidan Miller (Phillies #2 prospect, #27 prospect in the game according to MLB.com). He is followed by second baseman, Aroon Escobar (Phillies #6 prospect), shortstops Bryan Rincon (#12), Robert Moore (#23), Erick Brito (#24), Juan Villavicencio (#25) and third baseman, Carson DeMartini (#29). None but Miller are expected to make it to Philadelphia any time soon.