The Good Phight will be previewing the 2026 season by going over each position on the field. We’ll talk about the players that will occupy them, the played behind them, their strengths and weaknesses and give a few takes about how we think the season will shake out.
After the dust settled on the offseason roster churn, the Phillies ended up standing pat with the same starting corps of infielders that they rolled out last year. Along with the re-signings of Kyle Schwarber and JT Realmuto, this decision
to “run it back” again has a significant portion of the fanbase calling for Dave Dombrowski’s seat warmer to be turned up to 11. While it maybe doesn’t carry the same excitement as months of prognosticating how a new dynamic might have performed, it does leave the team with a veteran, battle-tested crew that has won over 90 games in each of the past three campaigns.
The starters: Bryce Harper, Bryson Stott, Alec Bohm, Trea Turner
Maybe the most infamous controversy surrounding the team this offseason was Dombrowski’s commentary on Harper’s 2025 performance and whether it deserves his being regarded as an “elite” player going forward. Dombrowski since walked it back a bit but Harper took notice and by all appearances looks motivated to prove that he is deserving of that status. Harper started the spring hot with three extra-base hits in four games before departing the club for the World Baseball Classic as part of Team USA. He hasn’t made the impact he or his country would like to have seen, with one more chance for “The Showman” to emerge in tonight’s championship game.
Stott will maintain his role as the team’s everyday second baseman for the fourth straight season. His production early in the season (.233/.305/.340 through July 31st) suffered from a failed experiment as the leadoff hitter, but from August 1st onward he slashed .310/.377/.503. In his 207 plate appearances in the leadoff spot and a few games hitting fifth and sixth, he went .212/.257/.295, while in his 353 PAs batting in the 7-9 spots he slashed .284/.369/.451. Stott, along with most of humanity, will never be the offensive threat at second base that was Chase Utley, but at the back of a deep order, he is capable of keeping the train running while providing consistently elite defense.
Hopefully Nick Castellanos burned his hairshirt before he left for San Diego, but if he gifted it to anyone, it could be Bohm. He seems poised to be the most likely player to draw the fans’ ire should his production not meet expectations, which might be fair when he’s being counted on by the organization to be one of the primary run-producers in the middle of the lineup. 2025 will be remembered as a down season for Bohm, but he still hit .287 and is a year removed from slugging 44 doubles and driving home 97 runs, so it’s not outlandish to think he can be a driving force for this offense.
The reigning NL batting champion is your plug-and-play everyday shortstop, as Turner had his best season in red pinstripes in 2025 and was the team’s most consistent hitter from start to finish. He will be turning 33 midway through the season and already provides middle of the road defense at a physically demanding position, so it will bear watching whether he can continue to stay at shortstop long term or if a contingency needs to be mapped out for the future.
The backups: Edmundo Sosa, Otto Kemp, Dylan Moore
Sosa will be the primary backup again at the middle infield spots, providing above-average defense at both spots as well as a live bat with underrated pop that also gives lineup flexibility as he hits from the opposite side of the plate as Stott and is especially successful against left-handed pitching.
Kemp and Moore seem destined to carry a lot of the same responsibilities in the field, each having recent experience at every infield position besides shortstop as well as left field. Kemp bats right and Moore left, so a lot of their playing time will come down to matchups and who’s hot.
The depth: Liover Peguero, Jose Rodriguez, Christian Cairo, Aidan Miller, Felix Reyes
Of the non-roster invitees projected to end up in Lehigh Valley or Reading, Peguero has the most MLB experience, 106 games over the last four seasons all with the Pirates. Rodriguez had a cup of coffee with the White Sox in 2023 and has experience at both middle infield spots. Cairo has seen more versatile usage in his journey through the minors, but the Phillies have been looking at him mostly at first and second. Anything these guys provide at the plate would be a bonus, but solid if unspectacular defense up the middle is all you should hope for if any short-term injuries befall Turner, Stott or Sosa.
Miller remains the gem of the farm system but a nagging lower back injury has kept him out of game action so far this spring. Barring a significant injury to one of the starters or a doomsday scenario where the team is out of contention early, expect Miller to see most of his action in the minors this year.
Reyes has gotten a lot of time at the corner outfield spots in the last two years, but corner infield depth is an organizational weakness. With Harper away, the organization has gotten a long look at Reyes at first base and he’s making the most of it, leading the team in RBI and tied for the lead in home runs.
Strengths: Continuity
This will be the third straight season all four infield spots have the same starters penciled in from day one. That sort of continuity begets chemistry and familiarity in vital places on the ball field. Each of these starters has a well-defined role carved out in the lineup and there is no uncertainty about the type and level of production the team expects from them. From a human standpoint, they are a close-knit group of leaders in the clubhouse that want to win for one another, which has to count for something.
Weaknesses: Continuity
At the beginning of the offseason, the possibilities seemed endless at what this group would look like this year. Bohm and Stott were the subjects of trade rumors. The Phillies were tied to Ketel Marte as a trade target and Alex Bregman as a free agent acquisition. They had a deal in place with Bo Bichette before he chose violence and went to Queens. After all of that commotion, the same four guys that couldn’t get this team over the hump in the playoffs are back and they’re all a year older.
Hottest take: Bohm makes the All Star Game
Bohm will build on his hot start to spring and play himself into the conversation as one of the top offensive third basemen in the NL with a stellar first half and the numbers will be too potent for voters to deny.
Realistic take: Turner and Harper make the All Star Game
With Citizens Bank Park hosting the midsummer classic, the fans will be stuffing the ballot boxes. Turner and Harper should get their fair share of votes league-wide anyway.
The most stable unit in the team may also be its most crucial for short-term and long-term prosperity. If the Phillies win 90 games and enjoy a playoff run, these guys will have played a huge part. If they don’t, this will be the first place everyone points a finger and demands be torn down. No pressure.
