Phillies notes: Rojas’ playoff status; Strahm’s contract; Painter and Crawford
PHILADELPHIA — The Phillies have not revealed yet whether they will carry 13 or 14 pitchers on their NLDS roster, but even if they do carry an extra man for the best-of-five series, it won’t be Johan Rojas.
There had been some thought that Rojas, who spent the final two months of the season at Triple-A, could be a postseason fit for at least one round because of his speed and defense. Theoretically, he could serve more of a purpose than one or both of Otto Kemp and Weston Wilson.
But Rojas is nursing a quad injury and will not be ready for the Divisional Round, which begins Saturday. He could potentially be in play for the NLCS if the Phillies advance.
“Rojas is here but he’s not ready to participate,” president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said Tuesday from the Phillies’ dugout before a team workout. “His quad is still bothering him but we think for the next series he could be fine, so he’s going to work from a rehab perspective.”
The need for 13 pitchers is reduced in a five-game series, so the Phillies could opt to carry both Kemp and Wilson. Or they could choose one and opt for the extra arm. Teams do not need to submit an NLDS roster until the morning of Game 1.
Rojas played 35 games with the IronPigs down the stretch and hit .279/.338/.361, though if he’s back up at some point in October, it would obviously be for his glove and legs rather than his bat.
Here are some other roster notes as the Phillies wait to find out their next opponent:
Strahm’s contract
Matt Strahm passed a physical this week that officially triggered his $7.5 million option for 2026. The club option was for $4.5M but increased by $1M if Strahm reached 40, 50 and 60 innings this season. He finished with 62 1/3 and a 2.74 ERA.
He is one of several Phillies hoping to wipe the taste of the 2024 postseason out of his mouth. Strahm allowed two runs in the eighth inning of Game 1 and two more in the ninth inning of Game 2 in last October’s series loss to the Mets. It came after a stellar regular season. Strahm was similarly locked in down the stretch this year, allowing just two runs in his final 17 appearances.
Painter’s season
Andrew Painter never made it up to the majors in 2025 despite Dombrowski mentioning as far back as last December that the top prospect could be up by July. Had it been a smoother summer, the 22-year-old probably would have gotten the call. He struggled with command at times in his first year at Triple-A and posted a 5.40 ERA in 22 starts with Lehigh Valley, allowing 18 home runs and a .281/.348/.493 opponents’ slash-line in 106 2/3 innings.
“I think Andrew had a solid year,” Dombrowski said. “He went out there every five days basically all year long, pitched over 100 innings, felt good at the end of the year. The stuff was still good. His command wasn’t quite as good. We thought it was a very solid season for him and think he’ll be in position to come into camp next year and compete for a spot. It’s an encouraging type of scenario for him.”
Confidence in Crawford
Justin Crawford will also compete for a job in spring training as part of a Phillies outfield that could look completely different in 2026. Crawford performed all year at Triple-A, hitting .334 with an .863 OPS and 46 stolen bases, and Dombrowski said Tuesday that he felt early in the summer that Crawford was ready for the majors. It was just a matter of not wanting to promote a top prospect only for him to play sporadically.
“I would have felt very comfortable if Justin Crawford had come up at some point,” Dombrowski said. “When I was (at Lehigh Valley) at the beginning of June when the (big-league) club was in Pittsburgh and Toronto, I saw him then for a week and would’ve felt very comfortable at that time bringing him up. We talked about it but the need wasn’t there at that particular time. We always had said if he was coming up, he needed to play every day. But we feel very comfortably that he should have a spot to compete for in the spring.”