Justin Crawford Positioned to Make Phillies' Opening Day Roster
Justin Crawford, one of the top prospects in the Phillies organization, is likely to crack the 2026 Opening Day lineup.
Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski mentioned Crawford as a potential contributor to the team in 2026, saying:
I'm not going to declare that anybody has a job, but there will be some people that we're really open-minded to being with our big league club next year, coming out of Spring Training.
Crawford, the Phillies' 2022 first-round pick, will be 22 years old on Opening Day, bringing youth to a team that had the eighth-oldest roster in baseball in 2025.
The average age of the Phillies' roster was 28.9 in 2025, with the 14 position players on the NLDS roster averaging 30.2 years old.
Author's summary: Justin Crawford may join the Phillies' Opening Day roster in 2026.