Phillies Mailbag: Playoff Layoff, Roster, and Rotation

We are back with a playoff edition of the 97.3 ESPN Phillies Mailbag. Each week during the Phillies season (and playoffs!) we take your questions and answer them on The Sports Bash with Mike Gill.  Tune in Tuesday afternoons to hear your questions answered on the air.

Are you concerned about the Phillies having the week off before they begin the playoffs?
~Brian

At least on the surface, the bye would be an advantage.  Unlike the teams who had to roll right into the playoffs - perhaps most notably the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves - the Phillies will have the opportunity to set their starting pitching rotation the way that they see fit.   The Mets and Braves, meanwhile, played two games on Monday and had to play Wild Card games on Monday no matter what.

If the Phillies were fighting for a Wild Card, let's remember that the Phillies pitched Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola in the final two games. If they were fighting to get into the playoffs, they would have exerted themselves extra and they would have not been available for the two Wild Card games.

Plus, I think it's fair to say that the Phillies could use some rest.  In the final weeks the Phillies were dealing with some nagging injuries.

And of course, the Phillies lost Kyle Schwarber, J.T. Realmuto, and Bryce Harper at various times.  It's good that they enter the playoffs feeling good.

Of course it's fair to worry about the timing of the Phillies hitters.  The Phillies played an intrasquad game on Wednesday, complete with crowd noise, walk up music, and even some friendly wagers.  The Phillies seem focused on the task at hand.

But let us not forget: those 2022 Houston Astros that beat the Phillies win the World Series had a bye.  That did not stop them from sweeping the Division Series, League Championship Series, and then winning the World Series.

How would you construct the playoff roster?
~Jason

I think the big question to answer first is whether the Phillies will carry 12 pitchers or 13 pitchers heading into the playoffs.  The Division Series is shorter, so the Phillies will perhaps be more likely to carry 12 pitchers.  I might go something like this:

Pitchers (12):
Wheeler, Nola, Sanchez, Suárez, Estevez, Hoffman, Strahm, Kerkering, Alvarado, Ruiz, Banks, and Turnbull, if healthy.

Hitters (14):
Marsh, Hays, Rojas, Wilson, Castellanos, Harper, Stott, Sosa, Turner, Bohm, Clemens, Realmuto, Stubbs, Schwarber.

Spencer Turnbull participated in the intrasquad game on Wednesday.  It's unclear if the Phillies are comfortable carrying him.  If not Turnbull, then maybe the Phillies would go with Koby Allard.

Would the Phillies want an extra pitcher in the NLCS or World Series?  We will see.  The Phillies might then carry Turnbull and Allard.  Or, a mop-up man in Taijuan Walker.  Walker, of course, did not pitch last postseason but was carried on the roster.

How would you set the Phillies rotation for the playoffs?
~Glenn

It sounds like the Phillies might be waiting to decide how their playoff rotation goes, contingent upon their opponents.  The likely four Phillies starters are Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Cristopher Sanchez, and Ranger Suárez.   They really don't have anyone beyond that, of course.

The Phillies could decide to pitch Sanchez second.  The reasons for this would be two-fold.  One is that Sanchez is left-handed, and could break up Wheeler and Nola.  Another factor: Sanchez has performed much better at home.

Home:  7-3 2.21 ERA
Road:   4-6 5.02 ERA

Of the two reasons, I think that if they feel the left-handed matchup works better, that might be the preferred method.

Should the Phillies face the Milwaukee Brewers, I think that they might want to go Wheeler and Nola first.  The Brewers are predominantly right-handed and the matchup might make sense to have the Phillies go right after them in games one and two.

They might think differently against the Mets, who have tough bats in Francisco Lindor and Brandon Nimmo.

So let's watch tonight and see who the opponent is.