Phillies Announce Wild Card Series Roster With No Real Shockers
Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Jesús Luzardo throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds in Cincinnati, Thursday, July 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
The Wild Card series is here, and with it comes the Phillies Wild Card series roster announcement
Philadelphia gets set for battle down at Truist Park against their division rivals, the Atlanta Braves, in a three-game series on the road. The Phillies must win two games to win the series and advance to the NLDS for a date with the Dodgers.
Before they focus on LA, they have to get through ATL, and the team they’re sending out to fight the Braves was one that saw no surprises, considering the performances from some players over the past few weeks.
Pitchers (12): Left-handers – Jose Alvarado, Tanner Banks, Jesus Luzardo, Tim Mayza, and Cristopher Sanchez. Right-handers – Jonathan Bowlan, Jhoan Duran, Alec McFarlane, Aaron Nola, Chase Shugart, and Zack Wheeler
Catchers (3): Rafael Marchan, J.T. Realmuto, and Garrett Stubbs
Infielders (5): Alec Bohm, Otto Kemp, Edmundo Sosa, Bryson Stott, and Trea Turner.
Outfielders (6): Justin Crawford, Bryan De La Cruz, Bryce Harper, Derek Hill, and Brandon Marsh
Designated Hitter (1): Kyle Schwarber
The biggest “shocker” of a decision from this team was that left-hander Tanner Banks was selected to the team over Brooks Raley. Both relievers have had terrible 2026 seasons, with both players ERA’s being well over 6.00 on the season with the Phillies.
Raley was acquired in a trade back in August, coming from the Mets, where he had a 1.96 ERA over 41.1 innings pitched with New York. When Raley arrived in Philadelphia, that 1.96 ERA player instantly vanished.
Raley ERA with the Phillies ended at 7.94 in just two months, with the past few weeks of September being the big kicker from Raley. The lefty was unplayable, as any time he entered the game, it felt as though he was allowing runs.
Another shocker to some comes from the decision to bring infielder Otto Kemp to Atlanta. Kemp hasn’t played with the team since May, but the Phillies are down an infielder with the other trade acquisition, Luis Arraez, missing the Wild Card series due to an ankle sprain.
With the decision to leave off Raley and Arraez from the postseason roster, which means all three players they acquired at the trade deadline- Arraez, Raley, and Caleb Killian- are not on the team.
Kemp likely won’t play at all, as he’s more seen as an emergency option rather than someone who will seriously contribute to this team. Arraez being out will feature lineups that either result in Edmundo Sosa playing third base and Bryson Stott moving back over to second, or Bryce Harper moving back in from right field to play first.
Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly prefers the first option, with Sosa starting, Bryan De La Cruz in left and Derek Hill in center, starting the right-handed-heavy lineup against lefty Chris Sale.
Phillies National League Wild Card Game 1 Lineup:
- Trea Turner SS
- Kyle Schwarber DH
- Bryce Harper RF
- Alec Bohm 1B
- Derek Hill CF
- Bryan De La Cruz LF
- Bryson Stott 2B
- Edmundo Sosa 3B
- J.T. Realmuto C
Jesus Luzardo is starting Game 1 on Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. ET, with the expectation that he’ll be piggbacked by fellow starter Andrew Painter.
Matt Brown
Matt has been a Philadelphia sports fan all his life and spent four years at Penn State University majoring in Broadcast Journalism and minoring in Sports Studies. He previously covered Penn State’s field hockey, men’s and women’s basketball, and baseball teams while writing for a Penn State blog called Onward State. He has now covered the Phillies, Eagles, and Sixers for Philly Sports Reports since October 2024 and wants to pursue a career in Sports Journalism.
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