This is part of a 30-article series looking at each team’s depth chart headed into spring training. Philadelphia Phillies Rotation 1. Roy Halladay 2. Cole Hamels 3. Joe Blanton 4. J.A. Happ 5. Jamie Moyer 6. Kyle Kendrick 7. Antonio Bastardo 8. Jose Contreras 9. Drew Carpenter 10. Ryan Vogelsong 11. Joe Savery Barring the addition of Pedro Martinez or another veteran, Kendrick figures to hold down the fifth spot at the start of the year, since Moyer is going to be recovering from his surgeries. I feel a little bit better about that than I would have a year ago, mainly because he improved his groundball rate in Triple-A. Still, he doesn’t miss bats. Contreras would likely prove to be a superior option, but the Phillies signed him intending to use him in the pen. Bullpen 1. Brad Lidge 2. Ryan Madson 3. Danys Baez 4. J.C. Romero 5. Chad Durbin 6. Jose Contreras 7. Antonio Bastardo 8. Sergio Escalona 9. Jamie Moyer 10. Kyle Kendrick 11. Mike Zagurski 12. Phillippe Aumont 13. Scott Mathieson 14. David Herndon 15. Ehren Wassermann 16. Ryan Vogelsong 17. Pat Overholt 18. Bill White Six spots are spoken for, but only if Lidge (knee) and Romero (elbow) can return from their surgeries in time for Opening Day. The Phillies still figure to add another left-hander from a group that includes Joe Beimel and Alan Embree.
Catcher 1. Carlos Ruiz 2. Brian Schneider 3. Paul Hoover 4. Dane Sardinha First base 1. Ryan Howard 2. Ross Gload 3. Andy Tracy Second base 1. Chase Utley 2. Juan Castro 3. Placido Polanco 4. Cody Ransom Third base 1. Placido Polanco 2. Greg Dobbs 3. Juan Castro 4. Cody Ransom Shortstop 1. Jimmy Rollins 2. Juan Castro 3. Cody Ransom 4. Brian Bocock The Phillies were aggressive in going after Castro, even though they really could have used someone better in a reserve role, particularly since they lost Jason Donald (in the Cliff Lee trade) as another potential fallback. Fortunately, Polanco is their only infielder with a spotty track record as far as health and even he’s played in 140 games in three straight seasons. Left field 1. Raul Ibanez 2. Ben Francisco 3. John Mayberry Jr. 4. Ross Gload 5. Dewayne Wise Center field 1. Shane Victorino 2. Ben Francisco 3. Dewayne Wise 4. Chris Duffy Right field 1. Jayson Werth 2. Ben Francisco 3. John Mayberry Jr. 4. Ross Gload 5. Dewayne Wise The outfield depth isn’t in question. Francisco would be a perfectly adequate regular at any of the three spots, and Mayberry would offer power off the bench if any starters go down. Assuming that everyone is healthy, Mayberry will return to Triple-A. The Phillies are set with a bench of Francisco, Gload, Dobbs, Castro and Schneider.
