Phillies Acquire Derek Hill
The White Sox have traded outfielder Derek Hill and $250K of international bonus pool space to the Phillies in exchange for outfield prospect Dylan Campbell and infield prospect Jose Colmenares, according to announcements from both clubs. Outfielder Everson Pereira has been reinstated from the injured list to take Hill’s spot on the roster. Philadelphia designated right-hander Jackson Rutledge for assignment to open a 40-man spot for Hill. Jeff Passan of ESPN first reported the trade.
Hill, 30, is a journeyman depth outfielder. This is his seventh big league season but he has appeared in just 268 games in that span. He has suited up for the Tigers, Nationals, Rangers, Giants, Marlins and White Sox. Chicago claimed him off waivers late last season and tendered him an arbitration contract, with the two sides agreeing to a $900K salary for this year.
He’s not much of a threat at the plate. He has a career .227/.278/.351 batting line, which leads to a wRC+ of 74, while striking out at a 30.8% clip. This year’s slash of .213/.284/.375 leads to a slightly better 84 wRC+, but still notably south of league average.
But he has other attributes. He is one of the fastest players in the league, with Statcast putting his sprint speed in the 94th percentile this year. That’s allowed him to steal 30 bases in 39 tries in his career. That speed has also helped him in the field. In over 1500 outfield innings, mostly in center, he has been credited with 11 Outs Above Average. Defensive Runs Saved has considered him to be league average.
Thanks to that speed-and-defense profile, he can be a useful player. The lack of offense hurts but he can at least be a short-side platoon guy. A right-handed swinger, he has a .272/.317/.463 line and 115 wRC+ against lefties, compared to a dismal .195/.251/.271 line and 45 wRC+ in the other split.
Despite his attributes, he has been getting squeezed for playing time in Chicago. The Sox have been calling up rookies this year and have lately been giving most of their outfield playing time to Braden Montgomery, Sam Antonacci, Tristan Peters and Rikuu Nishida, with Hill and Randal Grichuk chipping in from time to time.
The Sox have been rebuilding for years but are having a good season, currently leading the American League Central. This may feel like a “sell” move since they are trading a big leaguer for prospects, but it’s surely more that they feel subtracting Hill doesn’t significantly hurt their chances in 2026. Hill was already losing playing time and Pereira’s return from the IL would have further squeezed him out.
But the Phillies have a far more open outfield mix. They have been giving most of the playing time to Brandon Marsh, Justin Crawford and Adolis García this year, with Edmundo Sosa and Steward Berroa currently in bench roles. Johan Rojas would have been in the mix as a depth option but he was given a PED suspension earlier this year and his comeback was stopped by season-ending elbow surgery this week.
García departed last night’s game after appearing to injure his right shoulder. It’s possible he’s going on the injured list, though Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports that the Phils were looking for a right-handed complement to their outfield even before the García injury.
Marsh and Crawford are both lefty bats. Marsh has a career .221/.284/.318 line against lefties and would ideally have a platoon partner. He has a .288/.333/.442 slash against southpaws this year but that’s getting a lot of help from a .424 batting average on balls in play. Crawford is a rookie with a paltry .232/.291/.332 line on the year, which includes a ghastly .143/.250/.143 line against lefty pitchers.
Between Crawford’s struggles, the platoon issues for both Crawford and Marsh, García’s injury and the Rojas surgery, it’s easy to see how Hill could have a better path to playing time in Philadelphia than he did in Chicago.
To get him aboard, the Phils are parting with a couple of prospects. Campbell, 23, has now twice been traded for pool space. Originally drafted by the Dodgers, that club sent him to the Phillies in January of 2025 to add pool space to help them sign Roki Sasaki. He has played all three outfield positions as well as second base. He’s got some wheels, as he stole 42 bases on the farm in 2024, 33 last year and nine so far in 2026.
His offense is a bit more questionable. He is only hitting .216/.281/.412 at Double-A this year, leading to a wRC+ of just 75. He has been better in the past. He had a combined .232/.314/.370 slash over 2024 and 2025, leading to a league average 100 wRC+. FanGraphs ranked him the #19 prospect in the Philadelphia system in the offseason, though that was before this year’s struggles. He’s not currently listed as a top 30 prospect in the system by either Baseball America or MLB Pipeline.
Colmenares, 24, was originally a Yankee prospect. He was released in August of last year and was signed by the Phillies. He’s having a good season for High-A Jersey Shore, hitting .278/.403/.413, but he’s old for the level and that line is propped up by a .386 BABIP. He has exclusively played shortstop this year but has previous experience at second and third base.
Both prospects feel like lottery tickets, which makes sense since Hill is more of a role player than a true difference maker. The Sox probably don’t feel like they are giving up much since Hill was getting pushed off the roster anyway. They also presumably feel that Campbell and Colmenares are better than anyone they could have spent the bonus pool money on. The international signing period begins in January and most of the notable youngsters would have signed by now. The Phils, meanwhile, bolster their outfield group without giving up much and can use that pool space to replace the prospects they surrendered.
Rutledge, 24, was just claimed off waivers from the Nationals last month. He has been kept on optional assignment since then, so he hasn’t appeared for the Phillies in the majors. He gave the Nats 103 innings from 2022 to 2026, allowing 6.29 earned runs per nine.
He now heads into DFA limbo for a second time this year. If he garners interest, it will mostly be about past pedigree. He was a first-round pick of the Nats in 2019, getting selected 17th overall but he never developed into the kind of player the Nats hoped they were getting. He was initially a starter but walked too many batters and got moved into a relief role. As mentioned, his major league results have not been good so far.
There’s not too much encouragement in his minor league numbers either. Dating back to the start of 2025, he has thrown 21 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level. His 3.80 ERA in that time looks nice but his 17.6% strikeout rate and 13.2% walk rate are both poor numbers. He is still optionable for the rest of this year but will be out of options next year. He will likely be put on waivers in the coming days. If he clears, he would not have the right to elect free agency, since he hasn’t yet been outrighted in his career and has less than three years of service time.
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Johan Rojas To Undergo Elbow Surgery
The Phillies announced that outfielder Johan Rojas recently experienced some elbow soreness while ramping up to return from his ongoing suspension. Imaging revealed a tear of his ulnar collateral ligament, which will require surgical repair involving an internal brace. The expectation is that he will be ready for spring training 2027. He is currently on the restricted list
2026 was already shaping up to be an unfortunate season for Rojas. Back in March, he received an 80-game suspension after testing positive for the performance-enhancing substance Boldenone. That was going to wipe out the first half of his regular season and, like all players suspended for PEDs, render him ineligible for the postseason.
After receiving that suspension, his best-case scenario would have been for him to have a strong second half, but now that’s off the table as well and he will miss the entire 2026 campaign. He is currently on the restricted list. Once his suspension is up, the Phillies can put him on the 60-day injured list, or perhaps cut him from the roster by designating him for assignment or releasing him.
Rojas had a strong debut with the Phils in 2023. He was already known to have speed and defensive abilities, but he then put up a .302/.342/.430 line in his first 164 plate appearances. That wasn’t entirely sustainable, as he had a .410 batting average on balls in play, but it was a welcome development for the Phillies nonetheless. Thanks to that offense, his 14 steals and strong glovework, he was credited by FanGraphs with 1.4 wins above replacement in just 59 games.
His production tailed off from there. He could still swipe some bags and run the ball down on the grass but he hit just .237/.279/.312 over the 2024 and 2025 seasons. That seemingly caused the Phils move on from the idea of Rojas being an everyday player. They acquired Harrison Bader at the 2025 deadline. He became a free agent after the season but they essentially handed the 2026 center field job to Justin Crawford in the most recent offseason.
With Crawford, Adolis García and Brandon Marsh set to be the regular outfield in 2026, Rojas was lined up to either be in a fourth outfielder role or sent to the minors. Between the suspension and this surgery, he will instead be a total non-factor for the year. If he holds onto his roster spot through the winter and gets healthy, he could be back in consideration for those kinds of depth roles next year. Garcia is an impending free agent but the Phils will presumably look to address that spot before the 2027 season begins.
For now, the Phils have Edmundo Sosa and Steward Berroa as their bench outfielders, backing up the trio of Marsh, Crawford and Garcia. Marsh is the only one of those three having a good season, so it’s possible they look to shake things up at the deadline.
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Zach Pop Elects Free Agency
TODAY: Pop cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A, and the Phillies announced that Pop elected free agency over accepting the outright assignment. Because Pop has been outrighted in the past, he has the ability to reject any future outrights in favor of becoming a free agent.
MAY 30: The Phillies reinstated right-hander Zach Pop from the 15-day injured list and designated him for assignment, the team announced. The club needed a 40-man spot for righty Max Lazar, who was activated from the 60-day IL and optioned to Triple-A.
Pop hit the IL in mid-April with a right calf strain. He began a rehab assignment earlier this month. The veteran righty opened the season in the Phillies’ bullpen. He allowed three earned runs across seven appearances. Pop made his first MLB start in his final outing before the leg injury. He tossed two innings against the Diamondbacks as an opener ahead of Andrew Painter.
The 29-year-old Pop has pitched in parts of six MLB seasons with five different clubs. He joined the Phillies in December. Pop struggled mightily in five outings last year, split between the Mariners and Mets. He was crushed for 11 earned runs over 6 2/3 frames. The righty performed much better this spring, posting a 3.86 ERA across nine appearances during exhibition play.
Lazar opened the season on the injured list with a left oblique strain. He began a rehab assignment on the final day of April, which meant his 30-day rehab clock was expiring. Lazar has made 11 appearances in the minors this year. The 26-year-old has pitched well, tossing 13 1/3 innings with a 2.70 ERA.
Philadelphia added Lazar as a minor league free agent heading into the 2024 season. He debuted in the big leagues that year, pitching in 11 games with the Phillies. Lazar was a semi-regular member of the bullpen last season. He operated mostly in lower-leverage situations. The righty recorded an ERA up near 5.00, supported by a 4.58 xFIP and a 4.57 SIERA. He did pick up his first career MLB save in an 11-inning win against the A’s.
Lazar is in his second minor league option year. He’s unlikely to make a significant impact with the big-league club this season. The Phillies did need a temporary long man in the bullpen with Aaron Nola heading to the paternity list, but it was righty Nolan Hoffman who got the call.
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Phillies Re-Sign Bryse Wilson To Minor League Deal
The Phillies re-signed righty Bryse Wilson on a minor league contract. The Pro Edge Sports Management client returns to Triple-A Lehigh Valley just two days after being granted his release from a prior minor league deal. Wilson is back on the bump for the IronPigs this evening.
A 28-year-old swingman, Wilson has pitched parts of eight seasons in the big leagues. He hasn’t reached the Majors yet in 2026, spending the entire season with Lehigh Valley. Wilson signed an offseason minor league deal and has started nine of 10 appearances in Triple-A. He has an ugly 7.23 earned run average across 47 1/3 innings. Wilson’s 22.1% strikeout rate and 52.4% ground-ball percentage are more encouraging, as he’s been victimized by opponents batting nearly .400 on balls in play.
The release and quick re-signing are fairly common this time of year. Wilson presumably triggered an opt-out in his previous agreement. Even if his camp knew a big league contract was unlikely, he’d get a couple days to explore his options and potentially renegotiate future opt-out/upward mobility dates into his new deal.
Wilson has pitched nearly 500 MLB innings across four teams. He owns a 4.82 ERA with a modest 16.6% strikeout rate at the highest level. The Phillies are light on Triple-A rotation depth, so Wilson could get a look as a swing option this summer if his minor league results start to align with the peripherals.
Phillies Release Bryse Wilson
The Phillies have released veteran right-hander Bryse Wilson, per the transaction log at MiLB.com. He’d been working out of the rotation with Philadelphia’s Triple-A affiliate in Lehigh Valley.
Wilson, 28, signed a minor league deal back in December. He’s made 10 appearances, nine of them starts, with the IronPigs in 2026. He’s been dinged for a grisly 7.44 earned run average, but his performance hasn’t been as rough as that bloated number would seem. Wilson has average or better rates of strikeouts (22.1%), walks (8.1%) and ground-balls (52.7%). He’s been dogged by a sky-high .393 average on balls in play despite lower-than-average exit velocity and hard-hit numbers from his opponents. Metrics like xFIP (4.13) and FIP (4.30) feel he’s pitched well enough to have an ERA multiple runs lower than its current mark.
Wilson has pitched in parts of eight major league seasons but hasn’t found much big league success outside of a 2023-24 run with the Brewers. He gave Milwaukee 181 1/3 innings of 3.42 ERA ball with a 19% strikeout rate and 7% walk rate across those two seasons, but Wilson has a collective 5.73 ERA in his other six MLB seasons between the Braves, Pirates and White Sox. He’s worked as a starter, a short reliever and a swingman to this point in his big league career and is fully stretched out, so he could latch on with any club that’s looking for some experienced depth.
Phillies’ Aidan Miller Out Six To Eight Weeks Following Back Procedure
The Phillies announced Wednesday that top infield prospect Aidan Miller underwent a “minimally invasive” back procedure called a “radiofrequency ablation of the facet joints.” He’s expected to be shut down for the next week and is currently projected to return to game action in six to eight weeks overall.
Miller has felt persistent back pain throughout the season and has yet to get into a game at any minor league level. Per the Phillies’ press release, he was diagnosed with discogenic pain and facet inflammation in his lumbar spine. Both Phillies medical personnel and third-party medical experts who were consulted for second opinions agreed that this was the best course of action to get him back on track.
Miller, 21, was the No. 27 overall pick back in 2023 and currently ranks as the game’s No. 61 prospect on Baseball America’s top-100 rankings. That ranking has slipped considerably, due both to his injury absence and big performances from rising prospects around the league. He entered the season ranked 14th on BA’s top 100.
Though he won’t turn 22 until next week, Miller has already reached the Triple-A level. He’s hit at every minor league stop, slashing .259/.382/.427 in a pitcher-friendly Double-A setting last year (134 wRC+) before destroying Triple-A pitchers in the final few games of the year. Miller appeared in eight games with Lehigh Valley last summer, tallied 37 plate appearances and hit .333/.514/.519. Between the Double-A and Triple-A levels last season, Miller tallied 14 homers and 59 steals while drawing a walk in 15.6% of his plate appearances and striking out at a 23.6% clip.
Had Miller been healthy, he’d likely have been a consideration for a call to the majors at this point — if he hadn’t already been promoted by now. He’s a natural shortstop but is blocked there by Trea Turner. Third baseman Alec Bohm has begun to turn things around after an awful start to the season, but Miller might have gotten a look over him or also-struggling second baseman Bryson Stott by now. Instead, it seems he’ll be sidelined into the season’s second half.
If today’s back procedure proves effective, Miller could still be a candidate for a call to the majors late in the season, though that’s hardly a foregone conclusion. He’s not eligible for selection in the Rule 5 Draft until December of 2027, so he wouldn’t be added to the 40-man roster this winter. If he struggles upon returning to the field or simply fails to force the issue, the Phils could keep him in the minors in order to preserve some offseason flexibility with regard to the 40-man roster.
Whether it’s this year or next, Miller doesn’t seem far from impacting the Phillies’ big league infield. Bohm and Stott have both been well below-average at the plate this year, though the former put together a big May. Bohm is a free agent at season’s end, too, which could create a natural opening for Miller at the hot corner.
Dairon Blanco, Sergio Alcántara Sign With Mexican League Teams
Outfielder Dairon Blanco has signed with the Saraperos de Saltillo of the Mexican League, reports Francys Romero of BeisbolFR. He was playing in the minors for the Rangers but was released last week. Romero also reports that infielder Sergio Alcántara has signed with Pericos de Puebla in the same league.
Blanco, now 33, was a part-time player for the Royals from 2022 to 2025. For the most part, he was a bench outfielder whose best asset was his speed. Though he appeared in only 171 games and made just 285 plate appearances, he stole 59 bases in 73 tries in that time. He also received strong grades for his outfield glovework, as one would expect for a guy with big wheels.
His offense wasn’t considered as attractive but he wasn’t a zero at the plate. He slashed .257/.312/.416 over those four seasons with the Royals, leading to a 99 wRC+, indicating he was just barely below league average as a hitter. The right-handed hitter did best with the platoon advantage, slashing .296/.353/.509 against lefties compared to .228/.281/.349 against righties.
Blanco spent most of last year on optional assignment, only getting into nine big league games. The Royals designated him for assignment in March. He was claimed off waivers by the Rangers, though that club outrighted him off the roster that same month. He spent a couple of months as non-roster depth, hitting .230/.324/.295 in Triple-A, before the Rangers released him.
Alcántara, 29, began the year with the Phillies on a minor league deal. He hit .223/.389/.348 in 35 Triple-A games before being released. As a big leaguer, he has generally been a glove-first infielder. He has a .207/.278/.340 line in 506 plate appearances spread across four different seasons from 2020 to 2025.
In 532 shortstop innings, he has been credited with three Defensive Runs Saved and seven Outs Above Average. Oddly, the metrics are less kind with regards to his work at second and third base, even though those positions are considered less demanding than shortstop. Regardless, he has over 300 innings at each of those spots.
When players with big league experience sign with Mexican League teams, the contracts usually have provisions that allow MLB teams to sign them with no buyout. If either Blanco or Alcántara perform well south of the border, that could lead to a new minor league deal with an affiliated club.
Photo courtesy of Peter Aiken, Imagn Images
Phillies Notes: Realmuto, Miller
X-rays were negative on J.T. Realmuto‘s left wrist after the catcher was hit by a Yoshinobu Yamamoto fastball in the third inning of today’s 9-1 Phillies loss to the Dodgers. Realmuto remained in the game and was back behind the plate in the bottom of the third, but was replaced by Rafael Marchan before the bottom of the fourth.
After the game, Phils manager Don Mattingly told MLB.com’s Paul Casella and other reporters that Realmuto was “obviously sore, couldn’t really squeeze, wasn’t gonna be able to swing and actually had a little trouble catching, too. So, sore enough to get him out of there.” Despite this lengthy list of issues, Mattingly felt Realmuto was “gonna be okay” given the x-ray results.
The Phillies don’t play on Monday, so Realmuto has an extra day to heal up before the club begins a six-game homestand on Tuesday against the Padres. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Realmuto also sits Tuesday due to any lingering soreness, and the presence of both Marchan and Garrett Stubbs on the active roster gives the Phillies some flexibility in giving Realmuto some more rest without leaving the club short-handed at the catcher’s spot.
Realmuto missed 10 days earlier this season due to a bad back, and the veteran backstop is one of several Philadelphia hitters who has underperformed at the plate. After signing a new three-year, $45MM free agent deal with the Phillies during the offseason, Realmuto has stumbled out of the gates with a .220/.296/.299 slash line and two home runs over 142 plate appearances.
In a longer-term injury concern, Phillies GM Preston Mattingly didn’t have any new news on the status of infield prospect Aidan Miller, who has been sidelined all season due to ongoing back pain. “We’re leaning on medical. [He’s] still just doing his rehab program at this point. It’s not baseball activities, but as we’ve seen over the years, that could change pretty quickly,” Mattingly told The Athletic’s Charlotte Varnes and other reporters.
Miller dealt with back problems in the second half of the 2025 season, and played through discomfort over a two-month stretch that saw the infielder promoted to Triple-A for the first time. Miller still hit .264/.392/.433 over 526 combined PA between the Double-A and Triple-A levels, but had to finish the year on the Triple-A injured list after only eight games with Lehigh Valley.
The back soreness resurfaced again in Spring Training, and has put a halt to Miller’s fourth pro season. He has been able to play catch and take some grounders, but that has been the extent of his baseball activity for the better part of three months.
Mattingly feels Miller will be able to play before the 2026 campaign is over, though the fact that this is now even a question speaks to the uncertainty surrounding Miller’s status. The team seems to be operating with some extra caution given the lingering nature of this back problem, and how the Phillies “want him to be good to go not just this year, but the rest of his career,” as director of player development Luke Murton told Varnes.
Miller entered 2026 as a consensus top prospect in baseball, with The Athletic’s Keith Law and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel each ranking the infielder within the top ten of their preseason rankings. It was seen as just a matter of time before Miller made his Major League debut, with the career shortstop seen as a candidate to supplant Alec Bohm at third base or Bryson Stott at second base given how Trea Turner has the shortstop position covered. This extended injury absence has thrown a wrench into all of these plans, and it may be that Miller will have to wait until 2027 to get his first taste of the majors.
Phillies Trade Andrew Baker To Rockies
The Phillies announced they’ve traded minor league reliever Andrew Baker to the Rockies for international bonus pool space. Baker is not on the 40-man roster.
It’s the second time in as many months that the Phils traded for bonus pool room, as they acquired $500K in allotments from the Dodgers for Griff McGarry. Matt Gelb of The Athletic notes that the Phillies are adding to their bonus pool to facilitate the signing of amateur pitcher Chan-min Park, a 17-year-old righty from South Korea.
The 26-year-old Baker was Philadelphia’s 11th-round pick out of junior college in 2021. He has spent parts of five seasons in Double-A. That includes some strong work this season, as the righty has worked to a 2.65 ERA across 17 innings. Baker has fanned 25 opponents against five walks. He has never had any trouble missing bats, but that kind of control would be the best of his career if he’s able to maintain it.
Baker has gone unselected in the Rule 5 draft a few times. Although he’s not a premium prospect, he’s a potential up-and-down bullpen arm for the Rox. Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs gave him an honorable mention in his January writeup of the Philly system, writing that Baker has a 96-98 mph fastball and a plus slider with below-average control. He’ll be Rule 5 eligible again next offseason if the Rox don’t give him a 40-man roster spot.
Royals Sign Luke Jackson, Génesis Cabrera To Minor League Deals
The Royals announced that right-hander Luke Jackson and left-hander Génesis Cabrera have been signed to minor league deals. Jackson opted out of a deal with the Mets last week. Cabrera was with the Phillies on a minor league pact but he was released last week, per his transactions tracker at MLB.com. Presumably, both pitchers will report to Triple-A Omaha.
Jackson, 34, is really just getting his season going. He missed all of spring training, as he only signed with the Mets in the first week of April. He then made three scoreless Single-A appearances, followed by five Triple-A appearances. At that higher level, he allowed six earned runs in 4 2/3 innings before opting out.
The Royals are presumably banking more on his track record than those recent numbers. Jackson has a 4.22 earned run average in 409 1/3 career innings. Not too long ago, he was an important leverage arm in the big leagues. With Atlanta in 2021, he posted a 1.98 ERA and recorded 31 holds. He then made 11 postseason appearances to help Atlanta win that year’s World Series.
Unfortunately, Tommy John surgery wiped out his 2022 season. He was back on the mound in 2023, putting up a 2.97 ERA with the Giants. But then his ERA climbed to 5.09 in 2024. He corrected it somewhat in 2025, getting his ERA down to 4.06, but with less encouraging numbers under the hood. Though he induced grounders on 51.7% of balls in play, his 17.4% strikeout rate and 12.8% walk rate were both subpar numbers. In 2024, though his ERA was higher, he was able to punch out 25.1% of batters faced.
Cabrera, 29, just allowed 20 earned runs in 17 1/3 Triple-A innings after signing that aforementioned deal with the Phillies. That makes it fairly unsurprising that they let him go. The Royals will be hoping for a bounceback based on some potential he has shown in the past.
With upper-90s velocity from the left side, Cabrera has flashed some occasional swing-and-miss stuff along with command struggles. In 318 1/3 big league innings, he has walked 11.1% of batters faced. His career strikeout rate of 21.9% is close to average but has been erratic. He struck out 27.8% of batters he faced over the 2020 and 2021 seasons. That dropped to 16.5% in 2022, bounced back to 24.3% in 2023, but then was below 19% in the following two seasons.
For the Royals, there’s no harm in bringing in some fresh arms on minor league deals, especially guys with some major league experience. The Kansas City bullpen has not been a strength this year. The club’s relievers have a collective 4.51 ERA, putting them in the bottom third of the league in that category. Carlos Estévez, Matt Strahm and James McArthur are all on the injured list at the moment. With starters Cole Ragans and Kris Bubic also hitting the IL recently, long relievers like Bailey Falter or Luinder Avila might need to move to the rotation or at least bulk roles. If a fresh arm is needed at some point, Jackson and Cabrera could be candidates to get the call.
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