We play the Pirates, Giants, Marlins, Rockies and Padres after the Phillies & Mets. With three off-days in there (not to mention an off-day between this series and the Mets). So there's ample opportunity to rest Max and Strasburg against non-divisional opponents (and even possible "weak" opponents in Miami, SF & PIT) rather than throwing out our #4 and #5 starter against the Phillies in the 2nd series of the season.
"Giving them extra rest early on" doesn't have to mean the first week of the season, especially when the season is 6 months long. Mapping it out, we can push Max to the Saturday of the Pirates series instead of Friday (and move Strasburg to Sunday) and then the next week manipulate the Marlins/Rockies series.
