Phillies Acquire Zac Houston From Rays

The Phillies have acquired right-hander Zac Houston from the Rays in exchange for cash considerations, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports (X link).  Topkin describes the trade as a side effect of the Rays’ crowded Triple-A pitching staff, as Houston was apparently squeezed out by the team’s desire to give more innings to younger pitchers.

The 29-year-old Houston is a career minor leaguer, beginning his pro career as an 11th-round pick of the Tigers in the 2016 draft.  (Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski had already parted ways with the Tigers almost a year before Houston’s draft date.). Working almost exclusively as a reliever, Houston has a 3.18 ERA over 305 2/3 career innings in the minors, though he has only a 4.81 ERA over 101 frames of Triple-A action.

Houston has a whopping 35.46% strikeout rate, but an equally large 12.86% walk rate across his minor league career.  The righty’s control problems have existed since the start of his pro career, and his walk problems have ticked upwards as Houston has moved up the minor league ladder.  The obvious strikeout ability makes him an interesting project for the Phillies’ pitching development staff, as Houston could be a very useful bullpen weapon if he can pair his knack for missing bats with even average control.