The moment you’ve been waiting for is finally here. The Phillies have announced their official roster for Opening Day, which is *checks notes* tomorrow:

Pitchers

  • José Álvarez
  • Jake Arrieta
  • Austin Davis
  • Zach Eflin
  • Deolis Guerra
  • Tommy Hunter
  • Cole Irvin
  • Trevor Kelley
  • Reggie McClain
  • Adam Morgan
  • Héctor Neris
  • Aaron Nola
  • Nick Pivetta
  • Ramón Rosso
  • Vince Velásquez
  • Zack Wheeler

Infielders

  • Didi Gregorius
  • Rhys Hoskins
  • Scott Kingery
  • Jean Segura
  • Neil Walker

Outfielders

  • Jay Bruce
  • Kyle Garlick
  • Bryce Harper
  • Adam Haseley
  • Andrew McCutchen
  • Roman Quinn

Catchers

  • Andrew Knapp
  • JT Realmuto

Reports indicate that infielder Phil Gosselin, who Bob says “hit, like, .978 in this summer camp” will be added to the roster tomorrow.

In all honesty, given the change to allow for a universal DH, I’d say this team looks pretty good. It also seems like the vitriol spewed between the MLB and MLBPA, as well as the subsequent fallout with fans, has seemed to dissipate and everyone’s ready for the first pitch.

Bob, who is working on some other projects at the moment, chimes in with this:

When you look at the Phillies on paper, particularly the lineup, it’s hard not to like the balance throughout it. There are a few players who aren’t necessarily high on-base guys, but they are dangerous up and down the order.

If you squint hard enough, a healthy (and soon to be free agent) Jake Arrieta could piece together 12 solid games in the middle of this rotation. We’ll find out on Sunday if Vince Velasquez can carry the progression of his changeup and cutter into a regular season game, while Spencer Howard will likely be knocking on the door in a week or two. That should apply plenty of pressure to both Velasquez and presumed No. 4 starter Zach Eflin.

The concern, as it has been for months now, is the bullpen. There’s some high-upside guys there (Ramón Rosso), but there also several question marks. Overall, not too many surprises here based on went down earlier in the week. They do, however, need to make a decision about who to remove from the 40-man roster before adding Gosselin. That will be interesting.”

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