For all the talk of Dombrowski running the team back, there are a few significant players and faces who made up the 2022-25 run, now gone. Ranger Suárez signed a five-year deal with Boston, Nick Castellanos is trying to prove himself in San Diego, and Matt Strahm returned to the city that started his career and is the Royals top left-handed option.
There are eight players from the Phillies 2025 roster who are in different big league uniforms to begin the 2026 season. This will be a running series to track how these players are doing and potentially more. Maybe Max Kepler inks a one-year deal at some point, or David Robertson gets enough money to put the cleats back on. Maybe there are callups later on.
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Ranger Suárez’s Debut with Boston
Suárez inked a five-year, $140 million contract with Boston and made his first start of 2026 against the Houston Astros and their heavy right-handed lineup. The results weren’t great, allowing four runs in 4.1 innings of work with just three strikeouts and two homers allowed. They weren’t cheap homers either.
He struggled to get consistent swing and miss, which was part of why the Phillies essentially chose to pay Jesus Luzardo instead.
One interesting nugget from this start is how the Red Sox chose to deploy Suárez’s deep mix. His cutter usage spiked from 18% with the Phillies to 32% in his first Boston start. There were a few less changeups and curveballs and he didn’t throw a single sweeping slider. The slider part is almost certainly because Houston’s lineup featured eight right-handed hitters.
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Lance McCullers went 7 innings with 9 strikeouts in 2026?
Padres and Giants highlighted 3 former Phillies
The Giants signed Harrison Bader to be their starting center fielder, shifting Jung Hoo Lee to right field after a disastrous defensive season in 2025. Bader showed off his strong glove that made him a beloved Phillie on Opening Night against the Yankees.
Bader has started a bit cold at the plate, going just 2 for 14 with five strikeouts over the first few games of the season. He did pick up a big homer against the Padres to help give Tony Vitello his first win as a big league manager.
You know who was pitching for the Padres last night? Walker Buehler only made two starts with the Phillies at the end of 2025 but was still memorable. He signed a minor league deal with San Diego after pitching well with the Phillies and made their starting rotation out of camp.
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His first start as a Padre wasn’t great. He went just four innings on 72 pitches, allowed three runs with three strikeouts and two walks. He threw seven different pitches to try and keep the Giants lineup off balance but still struggled with hard contact.
The most notable former Phillie, and the entire reason this will be an ongoing series, is Nick Castellanos. His departure from Philadelphia was well documented and the Phillies related him when spring training started. Castellanos signed with the Padres soon after and has started two games as their designated hitter, and played two more off the bench.
In nine at bats, Castellanos has one hit, a bloop single against the Tigers, and three strikeouts. Padres manager Craig Stammen did not start Castellanos against either Tarik Skubal or Framber Valdez, two of the toughest left-handed pitchers in the American League.
Who knows how long of a leash Castellanos will have with the Padres.
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Bullpen Arms
Matt Strahm was traded to the Kansas City Royals for Jonathan Bowlan in the off-season. Matt Strahm’s exit was not nearly as public and crazy as Castellanos’s, but Dave Dombrowski did not love it when the left handed pitcher questioned how much they did pitcher fielding practice.
Through two games, Strahm has not allowed a run in 1.2 innings with one strikeout. There are some concerning underlying numbers though. His four-seam fastball velocity has dropped from 92.3 mph to 90.2, which could lead to a lot more hard contact down the line.
Jordan Romano is now the Los Angeles Angels, picking up his first save on opening day against the Astros. Romano pitched the following day again in a four-run game and threw another scoreless frame. Romano is now throwing 94 mph with a slower slider. Maybe the Angels found something but maybe they’re the Angels.
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Joe Ross made the Arizona Diamondbacks bullpen and even pitched a scoreless inning to begin his 2026 season against none other than the Los Angeles Dodgers.
It would be great if the story ended there but sadly it doesn’t. He pitched for the snakes Monday night against the Tigers and allowed six earned runs on five hits and a walk. Through 1.2 innings of work, Ross has a 32.40 ERA. Small sample math is great!
Also, Michael Soroka went five shutout innings with ten strikeouts. Is he back?
Mick Abel
Mick Abel put together a strong camp with the Twins, eventually winning a spot on the Twins pitching staff to begin the 2026 season. Because of how the Twins off-days were scheduled, they planned to use Bailey Ober and Abel as a piggyback before returning to a normal rotation afterward.
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His 2026 debut was just rough. Abel allowed eight hits and five earned runs in just 3.1 innings of work. He struck out four hitters but also walked four more. He needed 81 pitches to get through a little more than three innings of work. That’s just not great.
Notable Others
Here are some of the players from the 2025 Phillies that did not make a big league roster.
Carlos Hernández suffered a fracture in his left arm and right leg in a car accident back in January and has been sidelined since. He is currently with the Cleveland Guardians organization after signing a minor league deal with them in November.
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Weston Wilson is with the Norfolk Tides, Baltimore’s AAA team. He is not on the Orioles 40 man roster after being DFA’d by them back in February.
José Ruiz inked a one-year deal with the Yokohama BayStars of Nippon Professional Baseball back in December. In two innings, Ruiz has not allowed an earned run and has two strikeouts.
I like the Baystars jerseys and hats. They look kind of cool.
