The Philadelphia Phillies are down in Clearwater, Florida, for Spring Training as they prepare for the 2025 season. The Phillies opened up Grapefruit League play late last week as they played the Detroit Tigers in Lakeland, Florida.
A few of their starters played in the Phils’ Spring Training opener, while others suited up in their second game on Sunday against the Baltimore Orioles. However, the Phillies were scheduled to play the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday, as Cristopher Sanchez was set to face NL Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes.
With Skenes going for Pittsburgh, the Phils felt it was a good time to get most of their starters in the lineup.
According to John Clark of NBC Sports Philadelphia, the Phils had Trea Turner in the leadoff spot, followed by Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper, Alec Bohm, Nick Castellanos, Bryson Stott, J.T. Realmuto, Max Kepler, and Oscar Mercado.
The only player who might not be in the starting lineup on Opening Day is Mercado, who was signed to a minor-league deal. The Phillies will likely put either Johan Rojas or Brandon Marsh in center field.
Phillies game has been rained out today in Clearwater https://t.co/P2f7zIsuWJ
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) February 24, 2025
That said, fans must wait another day to see the full lineup, as Monday’s game in Clearwater was rained out. The next time the Phillies are scheduled to play is on Tuesday at 1:05 p.m. ET against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Heading into Spring Training, there was a lot of talk about what manager Rob Thomson would do at the top of the batting order.
Would Thomson keep Schwarber in the leadoff spot, which has produced great results over the last three seasons? Or would he go in a different direction, and put Turner at the top? Monday’s game was a potential indication of where the manager could be leaning.
Turner hasn’t hit much in the lead-off spot in his two years with the club. However, Turner is a career .302 hitter batting leadoff. We’ll see if Thomson will run this lineup out on Tuesday or during Spring Training.