Spring training is finally upon us. After a long offseason, baseball is back, and more specifically, Philadelphia Phillies baseball is back.
In some ways, the Phillies are stepping on new ground this spring. It’s their first spring training without Charlie Manuel in almost 10 years, and already manager Ryne Sandberg has turned up the heat in workouts. It’s a promising start for a manager who’s taking charge following one who didn’t always enforce such rigorous exercises at this point in spring training.
While there’s still plenty of time for Sandberg and the Phillies to make roster decisions, they still loom over the heads of the players until said decisions are made. Competitions will boil down to performance and expected performance during the season; and with certain wild cards like Cole Hamels’ shoulder injury giving more players a shot at making the Opening Day roster, the battles for roster spots should be that much more intense.
The Phillies’ to-do list isn’t extensive in 2014, since many of the team’s position players are set in stone. Pitching is always up in the air, as is the bench. Keeping this in mind, here is the Phillies’ spring training to-do list.