The Phillies announced their 26-man roster for the World Series. Aaron Nola will start Game 1 tonight against the Astros.
Two changes were made to the group that defeated the Padres in the NLCS. Right-hander Nick Nelson and infielder Nick Maton have been added to the roster, replacing left-hander Bailey Falter and outfielder Dalton Guthrie. Nelson was on the NLDS roster in place of the then-injured David Robertson, but Nelson will now take the spot of Falter, who was rostered for the entirety of Philadelphia’s postseason run. Maton is back on the roster for the first time since the Wild Card Series, as Guthrie had been added for the NLDS and NLCS.
Neither Nelson or Maton have seen any action to date in the postseason, and Guthrie had one appearance as a pinch-runner and defensive replacement late in Game 3 of the NLDS. Falter had the most prominent appearance as the starter of Game 4 of the NLCS, though it was slated to be more of an opener role. Falter ended up retiring only two batters and was charged with four runs, though the Phillies rebounded from an early deficit for a 10-6 victory.
With the Astros so deep in right-handed bats, the Phillies felt the right-handed Nelson was the better option than the southpaw Falter, even though Nelson’s splits indicate that he has been slightly better against left-handed batters during his relatively brief (103 2/3 IP from 2020-22) career in the majors. Likewise, the left-handed hitting Maton actually has better splits against lefties than righties over his 216 career plate appearances, but he’ll get the nod over Guthrie (a right-handed hitter).
Right-Handed Pitchers
Left-Handed Pitchers
Catchers
Infielders
Outfielders
