A peek at Phillies' potential roster as two players head to injured list

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CLEARWATER, Fla. — The Phillies on Tuesday offered a couple of clues as to what their opening day roster will look like when they confirmed that outfielder Roman Quinn and reliever Tommy Hunter would begin the season on the 10-day injured list.

Quinn suffered an oblique strain early in camp and only began swinging a bat in recent days.

Hunter is recovering from a mild flexor strain in his right arm.

The Phillies will open their season a week from Thursday against the Atlanta Braves at Citizens Bank Park.

Things are always subject to change, of course, but here’s what we know about the roster nine days before the season opener:

Starting pitchers

Aaron Nola will get the ball on opening day. Jake Arrieta, Nick Pivetta, Zach Eflin and Vince Velasquez will round out the five-man rotation to start the season. However, it’s possible that someone like Velasquez could initially be used out of the bullpen because off days would allow the Phils to go with four starters for the first week-plus.

Relievers

Manager Gabe Kapler and the front office like to go with eight relievers. They will likely include: Right-handers David Robertson, Hector Neris, Seranthony Dominguez, Pat Neshek, Juan Nicasio and lefties Adam Morgan and Jose Alvarez. With Hunter going on the IL, Victor Arano or Edubray Ramos could get the eighth spot. And, as mentioned, Velasquez could temporarily be the ninth reliever.

Catchers

J.T. Realmuto is the starter and Andrew Knapp is on his way to becoming the backup. Knapp is having a strong spring and he’s also on the 40-man roster, which gives him the upper hand over non-roster players Drew Butera and Rob Brantly.

Infielders

Rhys Hoskins, Cesar Hernandez, Maikel Franco and Jean Segura are set. Scott Kingery may end up being the lone backup infielder. If the Phils wanted to add a second reserve infielder, they could peel back on a reliever and carry Mitch Walding, who is on the 40-man roster, or clear room on the 40-man roster for Andrew Romine, Sean Rodriguez or Phil Gosselin.

Outfielders

Did you hear that Bryce Harper is a Phillie? He and Andrew McCutchen, both former NL MVPs, will be in right and left field, respectively, and Odubel Herrera should be ready to open in center field after being slowed by illness early in camp. 

With Quinn going on the IL, the Phils can carry both Aaron Altherr and Nick Williams on the bench. Quinn’s IL stint can be backdated to March 25, making an April 5 return possible. At that point, the Phils would have to make a decision because both Quinn and Altherr are out of minor-league options.



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