Putting in the off-season work :
It should surprise no one that some players are already in Clearwater doing work on their own initiative at the complex. It’s commonplace for players to train year round on multiple aspects of their profession - strength and conditioning being the primary focus during the off months. Alec Bohm has always been one to arrive early in Clearwater and this year is no exception - he’s begun his CW efforts although he’s previously been at work prior to arriving at the complex at a facility in Texas he also trains at. JT Realmuto and Aaron Nola have been getting workouts in at the complex since early December. RHP Seth Johnson is also an early arrival. Catcher Rafael Marchan told me this fall that he was spending the entire off-season in Clearwater, we saw him at the complex coming to work concurrent to Fall minor league High Performance Camp. Jose Alvarado is a local resident and often comes to the complex in January to continue his throwing program. As days pass more and more players will arrive prior to the official ST reporting dates in February.
Others are also hard at work at their home bases or in other destination facilities. Cressy Sports, for example, on the Atlantic Ocean side of Florida is a well known off-season training destination for many pro ball players - both major and minor leaguers. I know that Phillies pitchers such as Tyler Phillips, Andrew Painter, Andrew Baker and Griff McGarry are there and have been for multiple weeks in some cases this off-season. I also know of Phillies minor league players who’ve chosen to train at facilities in the Dominican Republic while others are getting work done by playing winter league baseball (see my daily winter league round-up reports).
Scheduled Camps :
Winter Minor League High Performance Camp will begin in mid January as invited players arrive at the Clearwater Complex for continued strength and conditioning training but also more baseball training than is conducted in the Fall Camp version. A concurrent HP camp will be conducted at the Phillies Dominican Academy. There’s generally on field work for position players inclusive of both fielding and hitting while the pitchers begin their throwing programs with both flat ground and side mound sessions.
The HP camp proceeds Minor League Mini Camp which begins almost concurrent to the big league report date for pitchers and catchers in mid February. That’s followed by full blown major league spring training (Grapefruit League games begin for the Phillies on 2/22 and run thru 3/24) as well as full blown minor league spring camp. The Phillies and AAA level Lehigh Valley will break camp after the final ST game - likely 3/25/25 while minor league ST camp will extend for a bit as the A thru AA levels don’t open their seasons till 4/4/25.
Congrats to Jose!
Jose Salas who’s been with the Phillies player development organization since 2016 as a Strength and Conditioning coach/coordinator (most recently serving as Latin America S&C Coordinator) has taken a job with the Milwaukee Brewers as a Assistant Strength & Conditioning Specialist on their major league staff! Congrats to Jose who’s always been welcoming and upbeat whenever I’ve seen him - used to tease him that if I were his client I would be his biggest challenge to get in shape 🤓. Very happy for him that he’s received an opportunity at the major league level - well deserved.
Other Notes :
RHP David Buchanan who pitched for the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs last season before being traded to the Cincinnati Reds has signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers organization as a free agent. We saw David in early camp last January at the complex on the half field mounds - drove me nuts figuring out who he was as I recognized his face but couldn’t place him - he had been pitching overseas in Japan and then Korea from 2017 to 2023. Best wishes to David with the Rangers.
Happy Day, Happy Baseball ⚾️
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