Phillies manager Rob Thomson’s already answering questions about Kyle Schwarber in the leadoff spot

Citizens Bank Park looks very different these days. It is covered under a blanket of snow. Most players are at their offseason homes, just starting to throw off the mound or just starting to take their first swings of the winter.

But despite that, spring training is almost upon us. Pitchers and catchers report on Feb. 14 and the Phillies’ first full-squad workout is on Feb. 19.

Manager Rob Thomson and pitchers Aaron Nola and Orion Kerkering were at the ballpark Wednesday afternoon to talk to the media. Among the topics of conversation:

Thomson was asked whether left fielder/DH Kyle Schwarber would stay in the leadoff spot in 2024. Schwarber isn’t a conventional leadoff hitter — for many reasons — but Thomson continues to point to the Phillies’ record with Schwarber at the top of the lineup. He played 108 games there in 2023. They went 63-45.

“We’ve got a lot of options there with Trea [Turner] and with [Bryson] Stott, but at this point, I don’t think anybody can argue the fact that we’ve won a lot of games with Schwarber in the leadoff spot and scored a lot of runs with him in the leadoff spot,” Thomson said. “Is it what you’d write up in a book on how to write up lineups? Probably not. It works for us.”

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Thomson did not rule out experimenting with that spot in 2024.

“Well, I haven’t said that Schwarber’s the leadoff guy because we have a lot of options and a lot of things happen during spring training,” Thomson said. “It’s still open. But if we end up on Schwarber, the reason’s probably going to be that I feel pretty good about where he’s at offensively and we’ve won a lot of games with him there.”

It is easy to forget, at times, that Kerkering is 22. He showed poise last season as he jumped from low A to the big leagues in his first season of professional baseball, finishing the year in the NL Championship Series.

But when you talk to him about his offseason, his youth starts to show. Kerkering has been working on two things lately: developing a two-seam fastball and getting his college degree from the University of South Florida. Both have been time-consuming.

“I’m taking classes online,” he said. “I’m a finance major. So this semester, I’m taking Money and Banking and Organization Development and Change. I have six classes left before I can get my degree.”

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Unfortunately for Kerkering, South Florida is not letting him skip any core curriculum classes because of his day job. But he is hopeful he will be able to graduate this year.

When he is not studying, the young Phillies reliever is throwing off a mound, which he began last week. He said he re-watched a lot of games this offseason, and realized he needed another pitch to complement his slider and four-seam fastball.

“Just throwing more east and west with everything,” Kerkering said, “between the two-seam and slider. That’s my goal for next year.”

Thomson is optimistic that Kerkering will help the club in 2024.

“I’d like to see him win the job, but he’s way up on my list as far as his talent level and where he stands in that bullpen,” Thomson said. “I like the stuff, I like the makeup, I think he’s going to be a big part of this thing moving forward — and including this year.”

Thomson fielded a number of questions about the 2024 outfield and what it might look like. It could be Johan Rojas, Brandon Marsh, and Nick Castellanos, if Rojas is able to show he can stay at the big league level offensively and Marsh hits well against left-handed pitching.

The Phillies have had a quiet offseason but still have an opportunity to acquire a bench outfielder before opening day. Despite that, Thomson said he doesn’t feel they are short in that area.

“No, because we still have Cristian Pache, we have [Jake] Cave,” Thomson said. “And again, there’s a whole bunch of players out there on the market. A lot of things happen right before spring training. That’s why our spring training invites are down. Because we know that people are just going to fall out of the sky and they want to sign someplace.”

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