The Phillies' GM has some decisions to make.
Philadelphia Phillies' J.T. Realmuto celebrates with Nick Castellanos after hitting a home run off of Kansas City Royals pitcher Noah Cameron during the first inning of a baseball game, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, in Philadelphia.
president Dave Dombrowski didn’t completely reveal his hand on Thursday at the organization’s year-end press conference when it comes down to the 2026 roster. But he gave some pretty good indications on some players whose time as a Phillie could be up in the air. Designated hitter Kyle Schwarber, catcher J.T. Realmuto and pitcher Ranger Suarez are the team’s high-profile free agents. Outfielder Harrison Bader has a mutual option. Schwarber is coming off a 56-homer season in the last year of a four-year contract. He seems to be the top priority for the organization. “We’d love to bring Kyle Schwarber back,” said Dombrowski. “He knows it, but he’s a free agent. But it’s a priority for us, and we’ll see what happens.” Realmuto just finished his seventh season in Philadelphia and while he is declining offensively is still a linchpin on defense. “J.T’s a really good player who has had a great career and one of his many strengths is handling the pitching staff,” said Dombrowski. “If you don’t have him, you have to try to replace that and there aren’t many guys quite as good as him in that regard. You want to bring him back, but if you don’t bring him back you have to complement your organization with someone who has many of the same qualities.” Suarez has been a Phillie since debuting in 2018. Despite a productive season, the Phillies have five other starters under contract and top prospect Andrew Painter ready to debut and the cost might be prohibitive. Painter needs to improve his command after Tommy John surgery two years ago, according to Dombrowski but feels he can re-gain it. Dombrowski did not promise Painter would be in the season-opening rotation. Bader joined the Phillies at the trade deadline and had a strong final two months. While he seemed a rental when he was acquired, his play makes him a possibility for next year.Outfielder Nick Castellanos, who will be entering the fifth and final season of a $100 million contract, went from a player who saw action in all 162 games a year ago to a platoon player at the end of the year. He wasn’t happy about it. It’s unlikely any team would assume the entire $20 million on the final year of Castellanos’ contract and certainly there could be playing time available if Bader doesn’t return. Castellanos’ situation is somewhat similar to Taijuan Walker’s a year ago after the pitcher went through a terrible 2023 season but still had two years left on his contract at $18 million per season. Walker wasn’t promised anything but because of injuries made over 20 starts and was a contributor this season. Walker will be back again next year in some capacity, but the pitcher acknowledged his short-comings and showed a willingness to accept any role available. Castellanos might be unhappy in a limited role and also clashed at times with manager Rob Thomson, and Dombrowski did not give his return a ringing endorsement. “We’ll see what happens,” said Dombrowski. “I’m not going to get into specific players under contract. The things you’re talking about are accurate, but we’ll see what happens.” Dombrowski and Phillies manager Rob Thomson made it clear that top outfield prospect Justin Crawford, who led the International League in hitting this year, would be part of the team’s outfield plan. “I don’t know what else he does at the minor-league level at this point,” said Dombrowski. “He’s never been overwhelmed at any level.” Dombrowski said outfielder Max Kepler, who was with the Phillies on a one-year contract, would not return. The Phillies have a $9-million option on hard-throwing left-handed reliever Jose Alvarado, who spent 80 days on the suspended list for taking a banned substance - though he claimed it was unintentional. He posted a 3.81 ERA - but 7.50 in eight games after returning and ended the season on the injured list. “We’ll wait to make that decision, we have until five days after the World Series,” said Dombrowski. “I’d be surprised without making any announcements that Alvarado is not back with us, but we’ll see what happens.” The president also noted reliever David Robertson, who signed with the Phillies in July after sitting out the first half of the season, wouldn’t be back - at least to start the year. “I don’t think he wants to pitch in the beginning of the season throughout his life span,” said Dombrowski. As for ace Zack Wheeler - who had season-ending thoracic outlet surgery - Dombrowski said the pitcher will start his rehab next week and should be back sometime between spring training and the end of May. If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation.and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our
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