The Philadelphia Phillies' starting rotation has a serious concern with its depth.
Dave Dombrowski has been fairly active this offseason, retooling the Philadelphia Phillies roster for the 2026 season.
Overall, he’s addressed some of the biggest weaknesses on the team, such as the outfield and adding some fresh arms to the bullpen. However, there’s still one more area the front office should consider adding some depth to for next year, and that’s the starting rotation.
Philadelphia’s rotation has a solid one-two punch, was Cristopher Sanchez and Jesus Luzardo each coming off tremendous seasons. There’s an extremely strong argument to be made that Sanchez should have been an All-Star.
Even though Aaron Nola had a down year, he still has a track record and is a savvy veteran, good enough to earn a spot in the rotation.
After that trio, there are some serious questions about who will fill out the last two spots in the rotation. Wheeler isn’t expected back to about mid-May at the earliest, and given the severity of his TOS injury, the Phillies should at least be preparing for it to be longer.
Next in line for a rotation spot is Taijuan Walker, who logged a 4.25 ERA and a 1.44y WHIP in 21 starts a year ago. His other 13 appearances came out of the bullpen, where the 33-year-old was much more effective as a pitcher.
Oct 9, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cristopher Sanchez (61) is relieved by manager Rob Thomson (49) in the seventh inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers during game four of the NLDS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn ImagesShould the Phillies give top prospect Andrew Painter a shot to earn a rotation spot out of the gate? Will his pitch-mix play at the big-league level? How long will it take for Painter to truly feel comfortable on a big-league mound? There’s a lot of upside with the 22-year-old, but a lot of questions, too.
As a group, the Phillies were one of the top rotations in baseball a year ago. Their 3.53 ERA was the best in the National League, and their 1.18 WHIP was fifth-best in MLB. That said, there are clearly some serious questions about the depth and health of the team's current group heading into 2026.
There has been some speculation about the Phillies possibly being interested in NPB star Tatsuya Imai. Even if Philadelphia does land him, the 27-year-old comes with some uncertainties of his own.
The Phillies should seriously consider adding another veteran arm to the back of the rotation, and there are certainly still some options on the free agent market to do so.