PHILADEPHIA -- The phrase has followed the Phillies through the winter, shorthand for a quiet fear that has lingered since October: running it back.
Manager Rob Thomson made it clear Tuesday that he does not agree with the characterization.
“If you think that’s running it back, or whatever the saying is, I don’t really know what to tell you,” Thomson said. “We got three new relievers, a new right fielder, (Justin) Crawford’s gonna have every chance to play, a rookie starting pitcher, Otto Kemp who wasn’t here at the start of last year. That’s 20-25% of the roster."
The Phillies are returning the core of a team that won 96 games in 2025 and captured a second straight National League East title, but fell in the Division Series for the second consecutive year. Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, J.T. Realmuto and Alec Bohm remain fixtures in the lineup, and the rotation continues to be anchored by Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola.
From the outside, the roster looks familiar. Internally, the Phillies insist it is not static.
Thomson pointed to changes throughout the roster, particularly in the bullpen and along the margins, saying roughly a quarter of the club will be different from the group that opened last season. Several new relievers have been added. A new right fielder is expected to take on a larger role. Younger players are positioned for expanded responsibility as camp unfolds.
The Phillies’ winter, however, was shaped as much by what did not happen as by what did.
The club made a strong push for shortstop Bo Bichette, a pursuit that would have altered the lineup’s balance and added another middle-of-the-order presence. Bichette ultimately chose the Mets, forcing the Phillies to pivot rather than transform their roster.
That missed opportunity lingered. Team president Dave Dombrowski acknowledged earlier this week that failing to land Bichette required the organization to recalibrate its offseason approach.
Instead, the Phillies emphasized continuity and targeted upgrades. Realmuto was re-signed to a three-year deal. Schwarber was re-signed earlier in the winter. The front office prioritized bullpen depth, an area exposed during last year’s postseason loss.
Thomson believes those changes are significant.
“We got a good ball club going in… we’re going to infuse some youth into this lineup… I feel really good about it.”
Still, the burden of proof rests with a group that has reached October consistently but has not broken through since its 2022 World Series appearance.
Under Thomson, the Phillies have lost once in the National League Championship Series and twice in the Division Series. Each exit followed a similar arc: a strong regular season, confidence inside the clubhouse, and a postseason that ended sooner than hoped.
That history fuels the “running it back” label, even if the organization resists it.
For Thomson, the distinction matters less than the outcome.
“We like our group,” he said. “We believe in our group. And we believe we’ve improved.”
Whether that belief holds will be decided, as it has been the last three years, when the calendar turns to October. The Phillies are not tearing anything down. They are not reinventing themselves. They are betting that experience, incremental change and internal growth can push a familiar roster one step further.
In Philadelphia, that bet is no longer measured in explanations. It will be measured in wins — and in how long the season lasts.
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