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Zack Wheeler Recommended For Thoracic Outlet Syndrome Surgery

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Phillies ace Zack Wheeler underwent surgery to remove a blood clot from his near his throwing shoulder earlier this week, but the right-hander is now facing another serious health setback.  As per a team media release today, Wheeler has been “diagnosed with venous thoracic outlet syndrome and the recommendation is to undergo thoracic outlet decompression surgery in the coming weeks.”  This naturally ends Wheeler’s 2025 season, and he’ll need roughly 6-8 months to recover from the surgery, according to the Phillies’ projected timeline.

The brutal news adds to a tumultuous week for Wheeler, as it was just seven days ago that he was placed on the 15-day IL due to the blood clot.  The successful surgery on Monday at least alleviated the most serious health concerns and put the focus back on when Wheeler might be able to return to pitching, even if getting back to the mound in 2025 seemed unlikely.  Details were kept relatively scarce about Wheeler’s status, yet speculation about thoracic outlet syndrome was raised just due to the co-relation between blood clots and the venous version of TOS.

Merrill Kelly is the best-known example of a pitcher who underwent a venous TOS procedure, and Kelly is also the best-case scenario for what Wheeler can hope to achieve in the aftermath of his upcoming surgery.  Kelly underwent his surgery in September 2020, was ready to go for the start of the 2021 season, and essentially didn’t miss a beat in the aftermath as the right-hander continued to post solid numbers for the Diamondbacks and Rangers from 2021-25.

This return to form was helped by the fact that a venous or vascular TOS surgery (related to blood clots) is the slightly less serious version of thoracic outlet syndrome, at least in regards to pitching.  Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post wrote a piece a little over two years ago detailing some differences between venous TOS and neurogenic TOS — the latter is the nerve-related version that essentially ended Stephen Strasburg’s career.

“If you had to pick, you’re not really sure which one you’d rather have [between venous and neurogenic TOS],” Kelly told Dougherty.  “The blood clot was not fun.  They are life-threatening.  But for pitchers, TOS surgery to address a blood clot is much more straightforward than nerve issues.  The diagnosis is more straightforward.  The recovery is more straightforward.  I was lucky in that way.”

This provides a bit of a silver lining to Wheeler’s situation, though naturally every person’s body responds to surgery in different ways.  Only time will tell if Wheeler’s recovery can be as thorough as Kelly’s, or if Wheeler’s rehab period will extend into the 2026 season.

Losing Wheeler for 2025, of course, is bad enough for a Phillies team that has designs on winning the World Series.  Wheeler was in the midst of another excellent season, posting a 2.71 ERA and elite secondary metrics across the board over 24 starts and 149 2/3 innings.  Even in his age-35 season, the righty was continuing to add to a resume that will garner some attention from Cooperstown voters when he eventually retires.  Since the start of the 2018 season, Wheeler leads all pitchers in fWAR (37.5) and has a 3.11 ERA over 1356 2/3 innings with the Mets and Phillies.

Wheeler has been the anchor of Philadelphia’s rotation since signing a five-year, $118MM free agent deal prior to the 2020 season, and then a three-year, $126MM extension for 2025-27 that was inked in March 2024.  While losing Wheeler is a major blow, the Phils at least have a deeper rotation than most, and can still roll out Cristopher Sanchez, Ranger Suarez, Jesus Luzardo, Aaron Nola, and Taijuan Walker as the starting five.  There’s extra pressure on the staff now that Wheeler is unavailable, and his sterling 2.18 career postseason ERA will be missed as the Phils try to capture that elusive championship ring.

Looking ahead to 2026, Suarez is a free agent this winter but the other four pitchers will return, plus top prospect Andrew Painter is expected to be ready for his first full Major League season.  This gives the Phillies some cover if Wheeler’s recovery does stretch beyond Opening Day, yet adding a depth arm might now be part of Philadelphia’s offseason plans based on Wheeler’s progress.

Orioles Claim Josh Walker

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The Orioles have claimed left-hander Josh Walker off waivers from the Phillies, according to announcements from both clubs. The O’s have optioned the southpaw to Triple-A Norfolk. They already had a 40-man vacancy from outrighting outfielder Jordyn Adams a few days ago, so no corresponding move was required. The Phils designated Walker for assignment earlier this week.

Walker, 30, has a limited amount of big league experience. He has thrown a combined 27 1/3 innings over the three most recent seasons. In that time, he has a 6.59 earned run average, which is obviously not strong. His 10.9% walk rate is also a bit high. However, his 24.2% strikeout rate is a good figure. His ERA has seemingly been inflated by a .380 batting average on balls in play and 59.4% strand rate. His 3.99 FIP and 2.70 SIERA paint a more optimistic portrait.

Ultimately, it’s a small sample of work and the O’s are probably putting more stock in his minor league numbers. From 2022 to the present, Walker has thrown 125 innings on the farm with a 3.96 ERA. His 12% walk rate is a bit high but his 30.6% strikeout rate is very intriguing.

For the O’s, they are playing out the string on a lost season, so they are making moves focused on the future. They sold at the deadline and have grabbed a number of players off waivers since then. Walker is in his final option season. That means he can be kept in the minors for the rest of this year but will be out of options going into 2026. He has less than a year of service time, so he is still a ways away from arbitration and even further away from free agency. If he can carve out a role in Baltimore’s bullpen, they can cheaply retain him well into the future. It also wouldn’t a surprise if they try to pass him through waivers at some point in order to keep him as non-roster depth.

Photo courtesy of Vincent Carchietta, Imagn Images

MLBTR Podcast: The Pohlads Aren’t Selling The Twins, Nathaniel Lowe, And Service Time Manipulation

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • Are there some notable relievers who could be on waivers this month? Also, what happens to a player when he is on waivers? (44:55)
  • If I told you that the Dodgers signed Kyle Tucker, would you believe me? (52:40)
  • What’s the craziest out-of-nowhere team to make the playoffs and could a team do it this year? (56:35)

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Photo courtesy of Bruce Kluckhohn, Imagn Images

Phillies Designate Josh Walker For Assignment, Activate José Alvarado

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The Phillies announced that left-hander José Alvarado has been reinstated from the restricted list. That move was expected as he had served his 80-game PED suspension. To make make room for him, the Phils optioned right-hander Nolan Hoffman to Triple-A Lehigh Valley and designated left-hander Josh Walker for assignment.

Walker, 30, was acquired from the Jays in exchange for cash back in May. He pitched five innings with Toronto but hasn’t appeared in the majors with Philadelphia. Rather, he’s spent his entire time with the Phillies organization in Triple-A Lehigh Valley, where he’s logged 26 innings with a 4.50 ERA, 19.8% strikeout rate and 10.8% walk rate.

A towering 6’6″ left-hander, Walker has appeared in parts of three big league seasons — two with the Mets and earlier this year with the Jays. He’s pitched only 27 1/3 MLB frames, however, and sports a rocky 6.59 ERA in that limited sample of work. He’s fanned nearly one quarter of his opponents and has a sharp 12.4% swinging-strike rate, but command has been a struggle for him both in the majors and in the upper minors. That said, Walker does have a more palatable 4.46 ERA and 26% strikeout rate in 167 2/3 innings of Triple-A work.

Alvarado has been out since May 16 after receiving an 80-game ban following a positive PED test. His absence subtracted one of the Phillies’ top relief arms, and he’ll return to a new-look bullpen that suddenly looks like a powerhouse. In Alvarado’s absence, the Phillies acquired Jhoan Duran from the Twins and signed free agent David Robertson. That pair, combined with Matt Strahm, Orion Kerkering, Tanner Banks and the returning Alvarado, makes the Phillies’ relief corps both exceptionally deep and dangerous for opposing lineups.

In 20 innings prior to his suspension, Alvarado pitched to a 2.70 ERA with a 29.8% strikeout rate and just a 4.8% walk rate. While he had some struggles last year (4.09 ERA), Alvarado has generally been a high-impact bullpen weapon for skipper Rob Thomson for the past several seasons. Dating back to 2022, he’s pitched 174 major league innings and logged a 3.10 ERA, 32% strikeout rate, 10.2% walk rate and 50.5% grounder rate.

Despite being on the restricted list, Alvarado was allowed to pitch in a minor league rehab stint as a tune-up to return to the Philadelphia bullpen. He tossed five shutout innings, albeit with as many walks as strikeouts. Alvarado recorded a huge 62.9% ground-ball rate in that time. His average sinker dipped from 99.3 mph to 98 mph, though that’s not exactly a surprise given the lengthy layoff.

While Alvarado will provide a major boost to the Phillies down the stretch, he’ll be a non-factor when the postseason rolls around. Players who are suspended for PED usage are ruled ineligible for the playoffs during the year in which they served their suspension. Thomson will have Alvarado at his disposal for the next six weeks, but in October, it’ll be Duran, Robertson, Strahm, Banks and Kerkering anchoring the bullpen — perhaps alongside one of the current rotation members, depending on the health and performance of the group between now and late September.

Vesting Options Update: Giolito, Polanco, Strahm

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The upcoming free agent class doesn’t feature a ton of players whose contracts contain vesting options. Marcus Stroman’s deal with the Yankees would’ve contained an $18MM player option had he reached 140 innings, but an early-season knee injury made that impossible. The Yanks released him earlier this month anyhow.

While Stroman’s option was a non-factor, a trio of players are closing in on their own vesting provisions.

  • Lucas Giolito, Red Sox RHP ($14MM club option converts to $19MM mutual option at 140 innings; $1.5MM buyout in either case)

Giolito is up to 106 2/3 innings across 19 starts. He needs another 33 1/3 frames to convert next season’s $14MM team option into a $19MM mutual provision. That’d allow him to decline his end and retest free agency as he heads into his age-31 campaign. He’d very likely do so and could command a three-plus year contract.

The righty’s season numbers aren’t exceptional. Giolito carries a 3.63 earned run average with a 19.6% strikeout percentage that is his lowest since his terrible 2018 campaign. He had a trio of blowups in his first seven appearances after missing all of last season to an internal brace surgery. He has been locked in over the past two-plus months. In his last 12 starts, Giolito carries a 2.34 ERA while averaging over six innings per appearance. His 20.4% strikeout rate still isn’t great, and he has benefitted from a .229 opponents average on balls in play, but he at least looks the part of a durable mid-rotation arm again.

Giolito has a good shot to reach 140 innings. He’d need to average a little under six innings per start over his next six appearances. If he stays healthy, he should take the ball at least seven times — which would give him leeway in case he has one bad outing in which he’s knocked out after two or three frames. Even a minimal injured list stint would take it off the table, though.

Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said over the weekend that the Sox had no intention of changing Giolito’s workload to keep him from vesting the option. No front office executive would publicly admit otherwise, of course, but there’s no reason to doubt Breslow in this case. The Red Sox are trying to secure a postseason berth. Even if they were out of contention, limiting a player’s workload so they could exercise an option to keep that player at a below-market rate wouldn’t make for an especially good relationship. If he gets to free agency, Giolito could take aim at something like the three-year deals secured by Luis Severino ($67MM with an opt-out after the second season) and Sean Manaea ($75MM with deferrals).

  • Jorge Polanco, Mariners DH/2B ($8MM mutual option converts to $6MM player option at 450 plate appearances, escalates to $8MM player option at 550 plate appearances; $750K buyout in either case)*

Polanco re-signed with Seattle last offseason on a somewhat complicated deal that reflected his health uncertainty coming off left knee surgery. The deal contains an $8MM mutual option which would vest into a $6MM player provision if Polanco reaches 450 plate appearances. Polanco has taken 395 trips to the dish. He’s 55 plate appearances from reaching the vesting mark, and he’d escalate the player option price back to $8MM if he tallies another 155 trips before season’s end.

Initially, the Mariners looked to have struck gold with that surprise re-signing. Polanco blasted nine home runs while hitting .384 through the end of April. Even with knee and side discomfort limiting him to early-season DH work, he looked rejuvenated. Polanco’s production completely tanked over the next two months, however. He had a huge July but is back to a .213/.275/.298 showing in 14 games this month.

Polanco has hit .209/.283/.344 across 315 plate appearances since the beginning of May. His season batting line (.245/.310/.439) is still above-average, but there have been significant peaks and valleys. Cole Young has taken over at second base. While Eugenio Suárez’s impending free agency leaves an opening at third base, Polanco hasn’t shown he’s healthy enough to play there regularly. There’s a good chance the Mariners would buy out their end of the option if it remains a mutual provision. Polanco only needs to start another 13 or 14 games to give himself more security.

That shouldn’t be a problem with 36 games remaining on the schedule. The M’s have sat him in each of their past two games against left-handed opponents, but he continues to play regularly versus righties. He’s highly unlikely to get all the way to 550 PA’s to push the player option to $8MM, but he should easily unlock the $6MM player option that’ll give him the unilateral decision whether to return to free agency.

* The vesting provision also requires that Polanco hasn’t suffered a lower body injury that’d prevent him from being ready for Opening Day 2026.

  • Matt Strahm, Phillies LHP ($5.5MM team option becomes guaranteed at $7.5MM at 60 innings)*

Strahm’s extension with the Phillies contained a $4.5MM club option for the 2026 season. The southpaw has already pushed that to $5.5MM and will escalate it to $6.5MM when he records two more outs. He’s 10 2/3 innings away from hitting the 60-inning threshold, at which point the price jumps to $7.5MM and becomes guaranteed.

In his case, it’s probably immaterial. Even if Strahm suffers a minor injury that keeps him from getting to 60 frames, the Phillies would probably exercise the option. Strahm is having another impressive season, working to a 3.10 ERA with six saves and 14 holds. His velocity has dropped a tick and he has lost a few points on his strikeout rate, but he has still punched out an above-average 27.7% of opponents. Strahm is one of Rob Thomson’s more trusted setup arms.

* The vesting provision also requires that Strahm pass a postseason physical.

Phillies Place Zack Wheeler On Injured List With Blood Clot

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August 18: The Phils announced today that Wheeler “underwent a successful thrombolysis procedure to remove a blood clot in his right upper extremity this morning by Dr. Paul DiMuzio at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. Further treatment and a subsequent timeline of recovery for Wheeler is to be determined.”

August 16: The Phillies announced that Zack Wheeler has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to a right upper extremity blood clot. According to Charlotte Varnes of The Athletic, the clot is near his throwing shoulder. The team has not announced a timetable for his return.

Philadelphia will activate Aaron Nola from the 60-day IL tomorrow. He’s listed as the probable starter for their series finale in Washington. They initially intended to go with a six-man rotation. Instead, Nola will take Wheeler’s spot in a five-man staff that also includes Cristopher Sánchez, Ranger Suárez, Jesús Luzardo and Taijuan Walker. They’ll still need to open a 40-man roster spot for Nola and make an active roster transaction to clear space for Alec Bohm, who is expected back from a 10-day IL stint tomorrow.

The immediate roster considerations take a back seat to concern about Wheeler’s future. The Phils should be able to withstand a short-term absence, at least with regard to the division. They’ve built a five-game lead over the Mets in the NL East. Their hold on the #2 seed in the National League and the associated first-round bye is tenuous. They’re only half a game up on the Dodgers and Padres, who enter play Saturday night tied for the NL West lead. (San Diego and L.A. are playing one another, so one of them will tie Philly this evening.) The scorching hot Brewers have pulled well ahead of the pack for the NL’s top seed.

If this requires a longer-term absence, it’d obviously be a massive blow. Wheeler remains on the short list for the title of MLB’s best pitcher. He has a 2.71 earned run average and leads the majors with 195 strikeouts. He’s averaging more than six innings per start. This will probably be Wheeler’s second consecutive sub-3.00 ERA showing and his fifth time allowing fewer than three earned runs per nine over his six seasons in Philadelphia. Wheeler has been exceptionally durable. This is just his second IL stint as a Phillie, with the other being a month-long absence due to forearm tendinitis in 2022.

A healthy Wheeler would be Philadelphia’s Game 1 starter. There’s no indication that the team is concerned about his playoff availability, but a blood clot comes with a level of uncertainty. The Phillies will presumably provide more specifics in the next few days.

Phillies Recall Nolan Hoffman For MLB Debut

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The Phillies announced that right-hander Max Lazar has been optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Fellow righty Nolan Hoffman has been recalled to take his roster spot. Hoffman will be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game.

Hoffman, 28, was acquired from the Rangers in mid-June. The Phils sent cash to Texas to get him. The Phillies added Hoffman to their 40-man roster but optioned him to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. It’s likely that Hoffman had some kind of opt-out or upward mobility clause in his deal with the Rangers. The Phils were willing to give him a 40-man spot but didn’t call him up to the active roster until today.

Since coming over in that trade, the submariner has been posting decent numbers. He often gets strikeouts and grounders but also gives out walks, which has been the case since joining the Phils. In 19 Triple-A innings since the trade, he has a 3.32 earned run average. His 31.8% strikeout rate and 51.1% ground ball are strong but he’s also given out free passes to 12.9% of batters faced. Last year, he was in the Orioles’ system and tossed 58 Triple-A innings with a 3.88 ERA, 28.2% strikeout rate, 52% grounder rate and 13.6% walk rate.

It’s possible that Hoffman will be quickly optioned back to the IronPigs. As noted by Paul Casella of MLB.com, lefty José Alvarado will be able to return from his 80-game PED suspension tomorrow. Perhaps that means Hoffman is just up to provide a fresh arm for tonight’s game.

The Phils used five relievers last night. One of them was Lazar, who pitched two nights in a row. It’s possible that Lazar was going to be the corresponding move for Alvarado tomorrow, but since he tossed a combined 40 pitches over the past two games and might have needed a night off anyway, he’s been sent out today. Time will tell if it’s actually just a one-day stint for Hoffman or not. Either way, he’s up in the show for the first time. The Phils will also need to open a 40-man roster spot for Alvarado’s activation.

Photo courtesy of Joe Camporeale, Imagn Images

Phillies Release Cal Stevenson, Activate Aaron Nola

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The Phillies announced this morning that they’ve released center fielder Cal Stevenson. It had not been previously reported that Stevenson was placed on waivers, but he evidently must have cleared waivers will now head into free agency. Stevenson could not be outrighted to the minor leagues after being placed on the minor league injured list earlier this week.

Stevenson’s departure from the 40-man roster makes room for Aaron Nola’s return from the 60-day injured list. Nola will take the active roster spot of Zack Wheeler, who was placed on the injured list with a blood clot yesterday. In addition, the Phillies announced that third baseman Alec Bohm has been activated from the 10-day injured list. Bohm will take the roster spot of utility man Otto Kemp, who has been optioned to Triple-A. Both Bohm and Nola’s returns to action were previously reported last week.

Stevenson, 29 next month, was a tenth-round pick by the Blue Jays back in 2018. He’s played in parts of four MLB seasons but has yet to establish himself as more than a depth option. He made his big league debut in Oakland back in 2022 and moved on to San Francisco for the 2023 campaign before spending each of the past two seasons with the Phillies. In Philadelphia, Stevenson has appeared in just 23 games and been used primarily as a bench piece when on the roster. At the plate, he’s gone 8-for-32 with three walks, six strikeouts, and three doubles between the past two seasons. A career .178/.276/.238 hitter in 118 big league plate appearances, Stevenson has spent most of this season playing for Triple-A LeHigh Valley with middling offensive numbers.

Now that he’s a free agent, he’ll have the opportunity to sign with any of the league’s 30 clubs or perhaps look at opportunities outside of affiliated ball. The specifics of Stevenson’s injury aren’t known, and if it’s a significant one it’s possible he’ll go unsigned over the final weeks of the season before looking to find a new club for the 2026 campaign. A skilled defensive center fielder with 22 steals in the minors this year, he should garner at least some interest as a depth option for teams in need of center field help.

As for Nola and Bohm, both have been out of commission for quite some time. Bohm missed about a month due to due a fractured rib, and while his 98 wRC+ doesn’t look like much it’s worth noting he was hitting a far more robust .299/.360/.410 in his final 150 plate appearances before heading to the injured list. Nola, meanwhile, last pitched in May due to an ankle injury and a stress reaction in his rib cage. His nine starts prior to hitting the injured list weren’t pretty, as he allowed a 6.16 ERA with a 5.05 FIP in 49 2/3 innings of work. Some of that is due to a 3 2/3 inning, nine-run blowup immediately before his placement on the IL, but he allowed four or more earned runs in five of his nine starts prior to the injury. A healthy and effective return from both players would do a lot to help the Phillies get ready for the postseason, particularly given the uncertainty surrounding Wheeler’s availability going forward.

As for Kemp, the utility man made his big league debut with the Phillies earlier this year and has gotten into 46 games so far while splitting time between the infield corners and left field. He’s slashed just .228/.298/.359 in 161 plate appearance, but his versatility and decent numbers (.740 OPS) against left-handed pitching make him a solid depth option for the club to have at Triple-A going forward.

Phillies Notes: Duran, Bohm, Nola

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It seems like Jhoan Duran and the Phillies have dodged a major bullet after the closer had to be carted off the field during Friday’s game.  Duran was hit on the right ankle by a Paul DeJong comebacker in the ninth inning of yesterday’s 6-2 win over the Nationals, leaving the reliever in some obvious discomfort as he briefly tried to walk off the pain.  The cart was summoned as a precautionary measure, and Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer wrote last night that Duran was able to freely walk through the clubhouse en route to the trainer’s room.

The Phillies revealed that Duran’s x-rays were negative, and the closer himself delivered another positive update to Lauber today, saying he felt “100 percent.”  Lauber noted that Duran wasn’t even walking with a limp.  It doesn’t seem like an IL stint will be required, and the right-hander may not need more than a day or two (if that) before he’s able to get back onto the mound.

Acquired from the Twins at the trade deadline, Duran came at a high price, as the Phillies had to give up big league-ready starter Mick Abel and top catching prospect Eduardo Tait.  The Phils felt the cost was worth it to land a controllable (though 2027) closer, and the early returns have been stellar — Duran is a perfect 4-for-4 in save chances since joining the Phillies, and he has allowed only two hits over four scoreless innings of work.  For the 2025 season as a whole, Duran has a 1.86 ERA, 25.5% strikeout rate, and 8.2% walk rate across 53 1/3 combined innings with Minnesota and Philadelphia.

If Duran has indeed avoided the injury bug, it sets the stage for (knock on wood) a healthy weekend for the Phillies as two prominent players are set to be activated from the injured list on Sunday.  Manager Rob Thomson said earlier this week that Aaron Nola would be return from the 60-day IL to start Sunday’s game, and the skipper told The Athletic’s Charlotte Varnes and other reporters today that Alec Bohm would also be activated from the 10-day IL to face Washington tomorrow.

Bohm has missed four weeks dealing with a fractured left rib.  The injury was suffered a week prior to Bohm’s IL placement when he was hit by a pitch, and after using the All-Star break to try and heal up, Bohm reaggravated his rib problem in the first game of the second half.  He started a Triple-A rehab assignment last Sunday, and served as both a third baseman and DH over five games with Lehigh Valley.

Bohm has a 98 wRC+ and a modest .278/.324/.391 slash line over 383 plate appearances in 2025, as he is still trying to fully shake off a brutal start to his season.  After posting a .513 OPS in his first 126 PA, Bohm hit a much more palatable .309/.362/.455 over his next 257 PA before hitting the injured list.  He’ll return to his usual third base position for the Phillies, which should push Edmundo Sosa and Otto Kemp back to their utility roles.

Nola will be making his first start in over three months, as he was initially sidelined by a sprained ankle back in mid-May.  However, it was revealed in June that Nola was also dealing with a stress reaction in his right rib cage, which soon led to a move to the 60-day IL.  This was only Nola’s third IL stint of the last nine seasons, and his prior two IL stints lasted only around seven weeks combined, speaking to Nola’s durability.

Trying to pitch through his ankle injury proved problematic for Nola, who allowed 13 earned runs over his last 8 2/3 innings and two starts before he succumbed to the injured list.  This boosted his ERA up to 6.16 over 49 2/3 frames, and the hope is that the long layoff can allow Nola to look more like his old self down the stretch run.

The right-hander’s return also has a larger impact on the Phillies’ rotation as a whole.  Thomson said the team will operate with a six-man rotation for at least one week, as the rest of the pitching staff (Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sanchez, Ranger Suarez, Jesus Luzardo, and Taijuan Walker) has pitched so well that nobody deserves a demotion to the bullpen.  While someone will have to be moved to relief work eventually, the Phillies will try to get creative in keeping their starters’ arms fresh for the playoffs, whether that means extra rest, skipped starts, or using two starters at once in a piggyback fashion.

Phillies Re-Sign Óscar Mercado To Minor League Deal

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Outfielder Óscar Mercado is back with the Phillies. He opted out of a minor league deal with the Phils just over a week ago but his transactions tracker at MLB.com indicates he has re-signed with the club on a new minor league deal.

Mercado signed the deal he recently opted out of back in February. Before opting out, he got into 92 Triple-A games and stepped to the plate 378 times. His 14.6% walk rate was better than his 13.8% strikeout rate. That led to a .252/.373/.385 batting line and 107 wRC+. He also stole 35 bases while playing all three outfield spots.

That performance was solid but not enough to get called up to Philadelphia. The club has had an outfield rotation of Nick Castellanos, Brandon Marsh and Max Kepler for most of the year, with others chipping in on occasion. They added Harrison Bader into the mix at the deadline and also have prospect Justin Crawford knocking on the door.

The path to a big league job isn’t great. Mercado took a few days to look around for other offers but has decided to return to the Phillies. He’ll provide them with some non-roster depth but it could take a few injuries for his services to be required in the majors.

Photo courtesy of Nathan Ray Seebeck, Imagn Images

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