Phillies drop massive hint about who has inside track for final roster spot
It’s the sight that every Philadelphia Phillies fan has been waiting to see. The Phillies officially opened spring training on Wednesday with pitchers and catchers going through their first group workout. As images and sound bites filtered out from the Carpenter Complex in Clearwater, Florida, it’s that time of year when hope abounds we can get irrationally excited about the potential the season holds.
A lot of the sound bites we received was Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski’s first press conference of the new season. During his roughly 20 minutes with the media, he addressed the final roster spot.
With the Phillies’ roster all but decided except for a few jobs, there won’t be a lot of high-profile position battles over the next six weeks. However, one of the brewing battles is for the final bench spot.
It sounds like Weston Wilson is the early favorite for the Phillies’ final bench spot
With Opening Day roster predictions abounding at this time of year, it’s expected that the battle will be between Weston Wilson, Kody Clemens and Buddy Kennedy. On Wednesday, Dombrowski gave us a massive hint about who he feels has the inside track for the job: Weston Wilson.
“We think Weston Wilson sort of gets swept on the side. He’s done a nice job for us when we’ve given him the opportunity, and he can play the infield and outfield.”
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Dombrowski is right about that. Wilson, in his limited time with the Phillies, has produced at the plate. The 30-year-old appeared in 41 games in 2024, hitting .284 with an .836 OPS in 98 plate appearances. He hit three home runs, collected 10 RBI, scored 13 times and stole three bases. You may recall that he also collected the 10th cycle in Phillies history.
Wilson has a minor league option remaining, so why might he have the edge over Clemens and Kennedy, who are both out of options? He has shown his versatility in the field. While 150 of his 180 big league innings in the field have been in the outfield, primarily on the corners, he has spent time at first, second and third base with the Phillies.
That versatility is something that Dombrowski feels is important for the Phillies’ bench. Even more so if center fielder Johan Rojas claims a bench spot.
“That person who’d be out there [in the final spot] if Rojas makes the team, would also need to be able to play infield,” Dombrowski said.
Clemens has also spent some time in the outfield (72 1/3 innings) but has primarily been an infielder (767 1/3 innings) over his time in the majors. Kennedy has played all 276 of his MLB innings in the field split between second and third base.
A lot can still happen when Grapefruit League play begins, but it sounds like Wilson has the early edge. He just has to show enough over the next six weeks to keep it.
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