'The best 0-for-2 ever': Marsh makes spring debut 

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Brandon Marsh sprinted from his spot in left field to make a catch 79 feet away, just a step or two from the left-field line. Johan Rojas got twisted, but he corrected himself to make an over-the-shoulder catch in center.

They were the first two outs in the first inning of Wednesday’s 4-1 victory over Detroit in a Grapefruit League game at BayCare Ballpark.

They were reminders of why the Phillies think they will be a better defensive team this season than they have been in years past. The Phils graded as the third-worst defensive team in baseball from 2016-22, but they showed considerable improvement late last year. They love the idea of a full season with Marsh mostly in left and Rojas mostly in center.

“That’s a cool dude to play the outfield with,” Marsh said about Rojas. “We’ve just got to get the lines. He’s got the rest of the ocean out there.”

Marsh played his first Grapefruit League game on Wednesday, giving the Phillies their first look at their projected Opening Day outfield with Marsh, Rojas and right fielder Nick Castellanos. Marsh had arthroscopic debridement surgery on his left knee on Feb. 9, but the Phillies always expected him to be ready for the season.

“Oh yeah, that felt great,” Marsh said about his spring debut. “The best 0-for-2 ever.”

Few players love being a baseball player more than Marsh. In fact, a bunch of Phillies were asked last spring which teammate has the most fun being a baseball player. There were numerous answers, but everybody mentioned Marsh.

“I know it was only a month, but it felt like a whole season,” Marsh said about his time recovering from surgery. “Today was a really fun day.”

Tigers center fielder Parker Meadows lofted a pop fly into shallow left field to start the game. Phillies right-hander Aaron Nola said he thought the ball was going to fall for a double.

But then Marsh appeared and caught it.

“We’ve got some speed,” Nola said about the outfield. “They get really good jumps on balls, and I think that’s why they catch a lot of them. It’s not just because they’re fast and quick. They get good jumps.”

“The wind pushing out just a tad helped me get to it a little bit,” Marsh said. “But I think I had a bead on it the whole time and I was ready to get dirty.”

Rojas went 0-for-2 on Wednesday. He is batting .152 with a .394 OPS this spring. The Phillies have said he needs to earn his job, but he is their preferred choice in candidate. Phillies manager Rob Thomson said the other day that he thinks Rojas will get his swing going eventually.

Extra Bases

• Kyle Schwarber felt some tightness in his right groin while working out in the weight room before the game. Thomson scratched him from Wednesday’s lineup as a precaution. Schwarber is expected to play Thursday.
• Right-hander Dylan Covey will open the season on the injured list because of an injured right shoulder. He had been a candidate to be the bullpen’s long man.
• Right-hander Michael Rucker hasn’t pitched since March 1 because of numbness in his right middle finger. He was in Philadelphia on Wednesday for testing. Rucker had been a candidate for one of the team’s final two bullpen jobs.
• The Phillies reassigned right-handers Mick Abel, Ryan Burr and Tyler McKay to Minor League camp. Abel is the Phillies’ No. 2 prospect, and No. 49 prospect in baseball. He struck out four in 2 2/3 perfect innings this spring. “Every time I see him, it seems like he’s getting better,” Thomson said. “He’s growing up. He’s maturing and becoming a man. He’s poised. He’s very intelligent. He knows how to go about his business and his stuff is really, really good. Can he help us this year? Possibly. But for the future, he’s a guy.”
• An illness has been tearing through the Phillies clubhouse the past couple weeks. It has affected many players, including left-hander Cristopher Sánchez and right-hander Orion Kerkering. Sánchez is expected to start Friday on the road against the Astros. Kerkering will get into a game this weekend.