PHILADELPHIA — Phillies pitchers and catchers will open Spring Training in Clearwater, Fla., on Feb. 14, taking the 100-foot trek from the clubhouse at BayCare Ballpark to Carpenter Complex for the first official workout.
Right now, it is almost entirely the same group that finished the NLCS at Citizens Bank Park in October.
It will be surprising if it stays that way.
“As far as we’re concerned, our No. 1 goal was to get [Aaron] Nola back and then improve around the edges,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said during a media availability Wednesday. “There’s still a lot of players out there, so we’ll see what happens.”
The Phillies signed Nola to a seven-year, $172 million contract in November. They have been quiet since then, other than a surprisingly spirited pursuit of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who signed a $325 million contract with the Dodgers. The Phillies made an exception for Yamamoto, 25, because of his talent and age, but sources have maintained they have no plans to pivot and pursue remaining big free agents on the market, including Blake Snell and Josh Hader.
Of course, the longer players linger on the market the more desperate things might become.
But sources said late last month the priority this spring is signing Zack Wheeler to a contract extension.
That has not changed.
“I hope we can,” Nola said Wednesday. “I really hope we can. I’ve enjoyed my time with him a lot. I mean, he’s one of the best pitchers in the league. He’s one of the most humble as well. How he goes about his business, it’s very cool to see being right next to him.
“I really hope we can have him for longer. We need him a lot. He’s done so much for this team and this organization.”
