PHILADELPHIA – The Phillies still had not announced a starter for Monday’s series opener against the Nationals as of late Sunday night – but the picture was becoming clearer.
The club made a pair of roster moves following Sunday night’s 6-2 win over the Mets, designating right-hander Bryse Wilson for assignment and optioning fellow righty Max Lazar to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Wilson had been a candidate to potentially fill the rotation spot vacated by Andrew Painter following his demotion to Lehigh Valley last Wednesday.
One of those moves was to clear a roster spot for lefty reliever Kyle Backhus, who is expected to be activated on Monday after missing nearly two months due to left elbow inflammation. The other is to create an opening for whoever is going to start – or at least pitch the bulk of – Monday’s game at Nationals Park.
The front-runner at this point would seem to be Alan Rangel. The right-hander’s last start with Lehigh came on Wednesday, which would put him on normal rest for Monday.
And while interim manager Don Mattingly has said he would prefer not to pitch a bullpen game, the Phillies haven’t ruled out potentially using an opener. With a fresh arm in Backhus and a mostly rested bullpen (closer Jhoan Duran is the only pitcher to throw each of the past two days), the Phils certainly have the resources to deploy an opener.
That would give Rangel – or whomever the Phillies choose to bring in – an easier landing spot against a Nationals team that boasts the highest-scoring offense in the Majors.