A week ago, I put out a projected roster for the 2014 Phillies. A week later, a lot of what I wrote feels reinforced. Most of the changes are in who contends for the last spots, not who wins them.
The Line-Up: Locked-
Revere, Rollins, Utley, Howard, Byrd, Brown, Ruiz, and Asche appear set. Franco has impressed this Spring, but he'd have to be pretty awesome to take third. I don't see a lot of room here. No one, so far, has had injury issues, and no one therefore is currently on the bubble. Asche getting hit by a pitch today is scary, but it appears to be minor.
The Rotation: In Progress-
Not shockingly, the pitching is behind the hitting. Cliff Lee is fine, and will be ready for Opening Day. A.J. Burnett, despite early struggles today, is going to be fine and ready. Kendrick and Hernandez haven't impressed yet, but they're likely to be in. Cole Hamels is going to miss a week or so, meaning the Phillies will either start with four, or pick someone else. I'd guess that MAG's early struggles make Pettibone the front-runner, though MAG's first outing was better than a lot of people expected (control problems taken into account). I'd guess they go with four actually. I'd say that Pettibone is in the driver's seat for sixth man though, right now.
The Bench: Still Worrying Me-
I don't like what I think happens on the bench. Nieves, Frandsen, Mayberry, Abreu, and Ruf make the bench, is my guess. If they have just four starting pitchers, look for Galvis to come north too. I think Hernandez is victimized by Mayberry and Frandsen sticking around. Brignac, Cedeno, Blanco, and the other non-roster invitees haven't excited me yet. Maybe they will. As usual, since I know the Abreu pick is controversial, I just don't see them leaving camp without a true lefty, and don't see any other guy in camp who can give them as good of at-bats. He's also getting a lot of playing time right now.
The Bullpen: Clearing?-
Papelbon, Adams, Bastardo, Diekman, Rosenberg, Lincoln, and De Fratus are still my picks. Martin going down for a few weeks ends that, MAG's control issues make him a non-possibility, same for Aumont, and I see Stutes and Horst coming up just short.
