PHILADELPHIA -- The first official spring workout hasn’t happened yet. Pitchers and catchers report later this week. The back fields are still quiet.
But on Monday, before spring training formally began, the Phillies drew two firm lines.
They will not rush Zack Wheeler for Opening Day.
And they are prepared to give Justin Crawford a real chance to claim center field - growing pains included.
Two timelines. One organizational mindset.
Wheeler has not yet thrown off a mound and remains at 90 feet in his throwing progression. Manager Rob Thomson acknowledged what had been trending in that direction.
“I don’t think he’ll be ready for Opening Day,” Thomson said. “But that’s not going to be too far behind that.”
There was no hedging.
“He’s far too important for our club to push him and have a setback,” Thomson added.
That sentence defines the approach.
Wheeler has been the stabilizing force in this rotation, the pitcher they lean on in postseason series and long summer stretches alike. The Phillies are not accelerating his buildup for optics. They are protecting the integrity of their staff.
President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski echoed that confidence.
“Our staff, especially if Wheels isn’t ready, you’re assuming five starters again,” Dombrowski said. “Painter has to earn it, but it’s pretty well set.”
No urgency. No public search for outside help. Just belief in the current structure.
April availability is secondary to September durability.
Dombrowski’s reference to Andrew Painter came with nuance.
The velocity returned last season. The raw arsenal was intact. The command lagged.
“He had stuff last year,” Dombrowski said. “He still threw hard last year. I’m looking for him to command his pitches better.”
The numbers reflect that transition.
Painter posted a 1.55 WHIP during his 2025 return season in the minors - reflective of a pitcher still sharpening consistency after surgery. Before injury, in 2022, he posted a 0.88 WHIP across three minor-league levels, a mark that underscored just how dominant his command once was.
That gap is what this spring is about.
“He had a regular winter,” Dombrowski said. “Just consistency and command of his pitches would be something that we’d want to see.”
Painter doesn’t need radar-gun headlines. He needs repeatability. He needs location. He needs to close the distance between post-surgery stuff and pre-surgery precision.
If Wheeler’s buildup is about preservation, Painter’s evaluation is about refinement.
While Wheeler builds back and Painter sharpens command, Crawford enters camp with something tangible: a legitimate path.
“If Crawford’s on the club — and I think he will be —” Dombrowski said, before reinforcing the standard. “These guys have to earn it.”
Earning it does not mean dominating Grapefruit League box scores.
“I think he just has to be the normal regular player that goes out there that doesn’t seem overmatched or overwhelmed,” Dombrowski said.
Thomson simplified it.
“If he’s himself, he’s going to be a really good player.”
For Crawford, that means using the entire field, applying pressure with speed, defending center field cleanly and lengthening the lineup without trying to transform it.
It also means the Phillies are prepared to live with the adjustment.
“It’s tough for any guy breaking into the big leagues to jump in and tear it up,” Dombrowski said. “We’re prepared to go through growing pains.”
For a contender, that’s not always stated so plainly.
Monday wasn’t a workout day. It was a tone-setting day.
The Phillies are protecting their ace rather than chasing an Opening Day headline. They are evaluating their top pitching prospect through the lens of command, not hype. And they are prepared to trust a young center fielder with real responsibility.
Preservation. Refinement. Progression.
Spring hasn’t officially begun.
But the direction of this season already has.
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