Phillies insider decides cut-bench-start with Zack Wheeler, Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels

The Philadelphia Phillies have had a quiet offseason as the NL East franchise has not made any major additions apart from re-signing Kyle Schwarber, signing Brad Keller, and bringing back Adolis Garcia.

Keller signed a two-year, $22 million contract with the Phillies last month and remains the only notable arm to join Philadelphia's pitching staff this offseason. Talking about their rotation, Phillies insiders Todd Zolecki and Jim Salisbury played a game of 'cut-bench-start' with former Philadelphia general manager Ruben Amaro Jr.

Zolecki gave his pick between Zack Wheeler, Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels on "The Phillies Show" podcast:

I would start Roy Halladay. I still remember that game in San Francisco in the NLCS in 2010, where he blew out his groin in the first inning, and they're like, 'We gotta get you out of here.' And he's like, 'F off. I'm pitching this game.' He grinds out six innings, keeps the series going. I mean, just a stud in every way. "And then you go down between Zach Wheeler and Cole Hamels. I really don't know. Zach wheeler's one of the all-time greatest postseason performers. He's never won a World Series though. Cole Hamel's did."

Former MLB All-Star Roy Halladay pitcher for the Phillies in the latter stage of his Hall of Fame career. He won his second Cy Young award with the Phillies in 2010 and pitched a no-hitter in the postseason the same year.

Phillies to rely on veteran ace Zack Wheeler for 2026 after missing out on Tatsuya Imai

The Phillies suffered a major blow last season after All-Star ace Zack Wheeler underwent a season-ending thoracic outlet decompression surgery in August. He posted a 10–5 record, a 2.71 ERA, and 195 strikeouts in a Cy Young-caliber season.

The NL East franchise are relying on the 35-year-old to lead the rotation for the 2026 season. However, they tried to add depth to the rotation by pursuing Japanese free agent Tatsuya Imai, who signed for the Houston Astros on a three-year $63 million contract on Thursday.

Edited by Chaitanya Prakash