BRADENTON, Fla. — Foundation. That’s what the back end of the Phillies’ starting rotation could use.
Developed, organizational pitching depth, to be exact.
MLB Pipeline recently released their Top 30 prospects for each club. They ranked the Phillies’ system 20th.
Outside of Andrew Painter, the club has just two starters in that top 30 who have thrown a pitch at Double-A or higher: Moises Chace (No. 10) and Friday’s starter against Pittsburgh at LECOM Park, Jean Cabrera (No. 15).
If one of their five starters goes down — or six when Zack Wheeler returns — there is no clear, definitive option waiting in the wings.
Enter Cabrera?
He threw 50 pitches against the Pirates, striking out three over 2 1/3 innings. He’s not overpowering. His fastball sits in the low-to-mid 90s.
The concern last season was his control, which ballooned to a career-high 4.0 walks per nine innings, and it’s what he’s keenly focused on this spring.
“I felt pretty good today,” Cabrera said. “We tried to work on the sweeper a little bit, and when I saw I wasn’t getting there, I was able to go to my secondary pitches and command them. So I could attack with those too.”
His best season came in 2024 as a 22-year-old, split between High-A and Double-A. He posted a 3.80 ERA, issued just 33 walks in 106 2/3 innings and struck out 110. Friday was another chance to see what the Venezuelan right-hander can do.
“I feel like it’s time,” Cabrera said. “Spring training is well under way and I feel like they want me to ramp up and progress with my arm.”
Listed at 6-foot, 145 pounds (which may be outdated at this point), Cabrera doesn’t carry the typical frame of a big-league starter, something his Phillies teammates have jokingly pointed out.
But those same teammates have been a resource. On the pitching side, he’s leaned on Jesús Luzardo and Cristopher Sánchez, absorbing how they prepare and building a routine of his own.
“It’s been more about creating the habit of having a routine and being ready for games,” Cabrera said. “You never know when you’re going to be needed, and whenever you are, you have to be ready.”
The veteran arms have also encouraged him to add some physical weight to handle the rigors of a full big-league season.
“They feel like I’m a good pitcher and that I have what it takes to pitch at that level,” Cabrera said. “They want me to gain some weight in order to be ready and healthy for 30 starts and 200-plus innings. Who doesn’t want that?”
Rob Thomson has seen the growth.
“Cabrera is a guy that’s getting better and better,” he said. “His changeup was excellent and his fastball just keeps improving. He has pretty good command out there.”
It remains to be seen where Cabrera breaks camp, but it may be too early to pencil him in as a reliable back-end option.
Where else can the Phillies turn?
It won’t be Chace. After a strong start to his 2025 campaign with a 3.24 ERA in six starts at Reading, he underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery in June.
Their ten other pitchers in the Top 30 are not close to being big-league ready. The closest?
Gage Wood.
1st round pick Gage Wood visited Citizens Bank park to officially sign with the Phillies and talked the Philadelphia media about his MLB readiness.
Their first-round pick a year ago has the makeup and confidence of an arm that could move quickly. The issue is that Wood made just 13 starts in his collegiate career at Arkansas, with his other 42 appearances coming out of the bullpen.
The organization won’t rush him into a rotation role this year, though he could pitch his way into a bullpen spot.
The Phillies are looking to stretch out Bryse Wilson as a swingman. The eight-year veteran has found most of his success in long relief. The last time he made more than ten starts in the majors was 2022, when he posted a 5.52 ERA with Pittsburgh.
He’s made a pair of scoreless two-inning outings this spring, and Thomson has taken notice.
“I like Bryse Wilson,” Thomson said. “He can really pitch. He’s not gonna break a radar gun, but he can put some command on the baseball and keep people off balance.”
Thomson also mentioned Alan Rangel as another name, who made a number of appearances out of the bullpen last season.
In other words, it’s thin.
At the onset of the offseason, Dave Dombrowski mentioned the club was still prioritizing starting pitching depth. No moves have been made, and Thomson is noncommittal on whether that will change.
“I don’t know,” Thomson said. “We’ll see how things go the rest of the way. If we’ve got eight right now, I feel fine about that.”
There is a notable positive on the horizon, though.
After his first time on a mound since thoracic outlet decompression surgery, Zack Wheeler says he felt good and smooth on Friday morning.
All indicators suggest Wheeler is ahead of schedule. He has looked strong in his bullpen sessions and remained optimistic about his recovery from thoracic outlet syndrome decompression surgery.
A timeline still hasn’t been set, but when he returns, the Phillies will have a competition for the fifth rotation spot between Taijuan Walker and Painter.
That doesn’t change the lack of developed arms behind them. Signing a veteran like Nestor Cortes to a league-minimum or minor league deal addresses this season, nothing more.
When the draft comes around, the conversation about investing in pitching will only get louder.
A trade for a young, controllable starter, one that wouldn’t significantly add to their luxury tax burden, currently sitting at the 110 percent penalty threshold, wouldn’t be a surprise.
That should still be a priority.