The Phillies have 31 pitchers currently vying for eight spots in the bullpen right now in Clearwater.
By our count, somewhere between 13-to-18 pitchers are realistically within reach of making the club.
As spring training games continue for the next month or so, here's a primer on what the battle for the bullpen looks like, the key players involved, and the ones to keep an eye on when you are able to stream a few innings of baseball on your lunch break:
Bullpen locks (5): José Alvarado, Orion Kerkering, Jordan Romano, Joe Ross, Matt Strahm
This quintet represents the five best relievers on the roster right now and all of them will play crucial roles out of the bullpen this season. Alvarado is the lefty specialist, Kerkering is the youngster with closer stuff while Romano is the vet with closer stuff. Ross is getting stretched out to start just in case of an injury but will be a middle reliever when the season starts, and Strahm is hoping to duplicate his All-Star campaign from a year ago.
Near locks (2): Tanner Banks, José Ruiz
These two aren't set in stone, but they are veterans the team is familiar with and they're probably in line for two of the last three available jobs, barring a multitude of tough decisions needing to be made. Banks is more vulnerable than Ruiz, as he has a remaining minor league option and Ruiz does not.
In the mix (6): Taijuan Walker, Max Lazar, Devin Sweet, Nick Vespi, Cody Stashak, Koyo Aoyagi
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Walker has the inside track at the final spot, if Banks and Ruiz get the sixth and seventh. He's getting paid $18 million and has been working hard this offseason to improve on one of the worst performances in the major league last season. The other five names here all have some major league bullpen experience with varying levels of success. Aoyagi (whose experience is from overseas) is a guy to watch — the first signee from Japan in franchise history. He has the talent to contribute this year. A breakout spring could be all it takes to get one of these pitchers to South Philly.
Probably not ready yet (5): Andrew Painter, Mick Abel, Moisés Chace, Jean Cabrera, Griff McGarry
We know Painter won't pitch for a few months but he is expected to be big league ready by the summer. Abel and Chace are two of the team's other top pitching prospects and each will likely be in Triple-A as starters to begin the season. The other two are talented young pitchers who still need time to develop.
An outside chance (5): Seth Johnson, Michael Mercado, Tyler Phillips, Alan Rangel, Kyle Tyler
Never say never on these five arms — some of whom have had experience in the majors. They are all on the 40-man roster and all of them save for Phillips has at least one minor league option left. It's possible that some of these guys could be called on to start as well, should a plague of injuries befall the starting rotation.
Camp arms (8): Nabil Crismatt, Jose Cuas, Tristan Garnett, Joel Kuhnel, John McMillon, Nicholas Padilla, Austin Schulfer, Guillo Zuñiga
Making it to a major league baseball spring training is a remarkable achievement. However that's probably as far as these guys will get this summer as non-roster invitees without much clout or accomplishment behind them.
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