Phillies invite 21 non-roster players to spring training

Jan 24, 2023 - 4:59 PM

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It’s that magical time of year where team begin sending out invites to participate in their spring training camp. Normally, it’s a time for high draft picks to get their feet wet getting some major league instruction, or the team wants to see how they act around the big league members of the organization. Other times, there are prospects that are on the verge of making the team and they want to see what they look like for an extended period of time.

For the Phillies, there seems to be a solid mixture of both players that can take some of the innings to make sure they have enough coverage while players ramp up and intriguing roster possibilities. Today, that list of players was released.

And for those of us who can’t see tweets on some devices:

There are the names you already know about since we have mentioned them, the team has mentioned them and they are fighting for a spot on the roster (Abel, Painter, McGarry). There is some filler here as the team looks to make sure there are enough arms to cover the innings needed for spring training games. There are the extra catchers to make sure that there are people to catch those innings and side sessions. And there are some players that have maybe even the faintest of shots at securing one of the final spot (or spots) on the 26-man roster (looking at you, JetPax).

All eyes will be focused on Andrew Painter, and to a lesser extent, Mick Abel and Griff McGarry as they all vie for a possible rotation spot with the Phillies. Unless there is something catastrophic, all three of them will not make it, but with Painter taking the pole position, there will be some healthy competition.

Let the games begin.

Please.