Philadelphia Phillies owner John Middleton has made his feelings known on a major concern heading into the 2026 MLB season.
For quite some time now, the Philadelphia Phillies have built their team around a dynamic starting rotation that has consistently been among baseball's best.
However, heading into the 2026 MLB campaign, there are serious questions surrounding the Phillies' pitching staff.
Ranger Suarez departed the club via free agency over the winter, and Zack Wheeler remains sidelined with no definitive timetable as he recovers from thoracic outlet syndrome.
That leaves the Phillies with Cristopher Sanchez and Jesus Luzardo as their only two truly reliable starters going into Opening Day. Aaron Nola, Taijuan Walker and top prospect Andrew Painter will round out the rest of the rotation.
Understandably, fans are concerned about Philadelphia's staff and are a bit miffed that the Phillies didn't add any other arms during the offseason, but owner John Middleton doesn't seem worried at all.
"Obviously, Aaron and Zack are older," Middleton said, via Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. "But you think about Sánchez, you think about Luzardo, you think about Painter. Think about those three guys and where they’ll be in four years. The pitching window is absolutely not closing. It’s not even closing an inch."
Philadelphia Phillies owner John Middleton. Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images.That might just a bit of an exaggeration.
Nola had an awful year in 2025, and while Wheeler was terrific when he pitched last season, he turns 36 years old in May and is coming off of a very serious health issue.
Sanchez is a stud, but Luzardo can be maddeningly inconsistent, and Walker is nothing more than an innings eater. Then there's Painter, who struggled mightily at Triple-A last year and has yet to appear on the big-league level.
So there is definitely reason to be concerned, although Middleton is remaining adamant in his stance.
"And guess what? [Phillies No. 4 prospect Gage Wood] might be up in a year or two. So you could be having a fourth young pitcher up there throwing like a No. 1 or a No. 2. Time will tell. But yeah, you just keep doing it," Middleton added.
It's entirely possible that Philadelphia's starting rotation will be just fine. Maybe Nola will bounce back, and maybe Painter will be an NL Rookie of the Year contender.
But Phillies fans have every right to be a bit uneasy over the state of the staff with the season opener two weeks away.
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