Bill Streicher
There might not have to be any last-minute projections of what the Opening Day lineup will look like for the Phillies Thursday when they host the Texas Rangers at Citizens Bank Park.
According to Todd Zolecki of MLB.com, Rob Thomson conceded that the lineup the Phillies used during their final Grapefruit League game —a 7-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays Monday — "probably is" what we'll see Thursday:
The Phillies play their final Grapefruit League game today. Here’s the lineup vs. Rays at 12:05 p.m. on https://t.co/gqnU9RSPlL.
Turner 6
Schwarber DH
Harper 3
Bohm 5
Stott 4
García 9
Marsh 7
Realmuto 2
Crawford 8
Luzardo LHP pic.twitter.com/6CYeuV3bum
The most notable takeaway is that at least for Opening Day, it appears that Kyle Schwarber will continue to hit second, with Bryce Harper batting behind him.
"We had a lot of success with it last year," Thomson said, per Zolecki. "That could switch, too. It's just one game right now. We'll take it game by game. We're open to making some moves."
There had been some discussion early in Spring Training about the possibility that the two would flip spots in the lineup this year, with the thought being that Harper would see more pitches with Schwarber hitting behind him than he did a year ago. However, when Harper arrived at Clearwater last month, he made it clear that the Phillies are going to need more out of the cleanup spot this year, regardless of who is hitting third.
"I think it's a huge impact in the four spot," Harper said. "I think anybody, doesn't matter if it's me or Schwarbs, cause if Schwarbs is hitting there, same thing is gonna kinda happen, right? So I think the four spot is a huge impact. I think the numbers in the four spot weren't very good for our whole team. I think whoever is in that four spot is gonna have a big job to do, depending on who's hitting three or who is hitting two."
Thomson has been pretty consistent in saying that he wants to have all three of Harper, Schwarber and Trea Turner guaranteed to bat in the first inning. While that makes sense, the Phillies don't have an obvious person to hit fourth. For now, it seems that Alec Bohm is going to get the first crack, with the Phillies hoping he returns to being the player who drove in 97 runs in both 2023 and 2024. If Adolis García bounces back in the manner the Phillies are hoping for, he could also play himself into being the cleanup hitter at some point this season.
Regardless of who is hitting fourth, Harper said over the weekend that he's hoping to walk 140-150 times in 2026, which means he's going to be more comfortable passing the baton this year than he was a season ago. That will put pressure on president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski if someone doesn't emerge as a legitimate option to drive Harper, Schwarber and Turner in.
