This story was excerpted from Todd Zolecki¡¯s Phillies Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Cristopher Sánchez didn¡¯t want to tip his hand.

¡°I am working on a few new things,¡± he said through an interpreter on Tuesday at Citizens Bank Park. ¡°I won¡¯t say what those are, but I¡¯m working on a few new things.¡±

A new pitch?

¡°Yeah,¡± he said, smiling.

It¡¯s fine that S¨¢nchez didn¡¯t reveal anything this week. Phillies pitchers and catchers don¡¯t get to work in Clearwater, Fla., until Feb. 12, so there¡¯s plenty of time between then and Opening Day to learn about the new wrinkle(s) in S¨¢nchez¡¯s arsenal.

But it says something that S¨¢nchez has spent the offseason looking to adjust before hitters have a chance to adjust to him. S¨¢nchez went 11-9 with a 3.32 ERA in 31 starts last year, his first full season in the big leagues. He made his first NL All-Star team. He earned NL Pitcher of the Month honors in June. Around that time, the Phillies signed him to a four-year, $22.5 million contract extension.

But S¨¢nchez, 28, believes he can be even better, just like Zack Wheeler, who is always looking for an edge. Wheeler showed up the past two springs with new pitches: a sweeper in 2023 and a changeup in 2024.

S¨¢nchez could be following suit.

S¨¢nchez on Tuesday mentioned how much he is looking forward to the 2025 season. He said how much he wants to win a World Series.

A really good rotation helps the Phillies¡¯ chances.

¡°Yeah, just being honest, this is one of the best rotations, if not the best,¡± S¨¢nchez said. ¡°As long as we all stay healthy, we¡¯ll be one of the best.¡±

FanGraphs projects the Phillies to have the second-best rotation in baseball in 2025, behind the Dodgers:

1 Dodgers, 18.2 fWAR
2 Phillies, 16.9 fWAR
3 Braves, 15.3 fWAR

Rest of the NL East:
18. Mets, 11.7 fWAR
22. Marlins, 10.6 fWAR
26. Nationals, 9.9 fWAR

The Dodgers¡¯ rotation includes Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Roki Sasaki, Tony Gonsolin and Shohei Ohtani. The Phillies¡¯ rotation includes Wheeler, Aaron Nola, S¨¢nchez, Ranger Su¨¢rez, Jes¨²s Luzardo and Andrew Painter. The Braves¡¯ unit includes Chris Sale, Reynaldo L¨®pez, Spencer Schwellenbach and Spencer Strider.

The title of ¡°Best Rotation¡± likely will come down to durability and health. Each of those rotations has questions to answer.

S¨¢nchez proved durable last year. He threw a career-high 181 2/3 innings -- 82 1/3 more than he threw in 2023.

If he matches last year¡¯s workload, or exceeds it, it will go a long way in the Phillies¡¯ championship pursuits.

¡°Every time, to get better, you have to keep adjusting,¡± he said. ¡°The main goal is to stay healthy throughout the season. Go to the All-Star Game again is one of my goals. Again, just try to help the team win to get us to our ultimate goal.¡±