The Rangers have traded right-hander Daniel Robert, whom they’d recently designated for assignment, to the Phillies in exchange for minor league right-hander Enrique Segura, per announcements from both clubs. The Phillies optioned Robert to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
Robert, 30, made his MLB debut with the Rangers in 2024 and pitched quite well in a small sample. He tossed 5 2/3 innings, holding opponents to two runs (3.18 ERA) on six hits and a pair of walks. He averaged just under 95 mph on his four-seamer, dodged hard contact of nearly any sort, and fanned six of his 26 opponents (23.1%).
It’s a tiny sample, of course, but Robert has also pitched well in the upper minors. It took several passes through Triple-A — he struggled there in 2022 and logged pedestrian numbers in 2023 before thriving in 2024 — but the recent results are impressive. Last year, Robert tossed 43 1/3 innings and notched a tidy 2.70 ERA. He punched out a weighty 31% of his opponents against a lower-than-average 7.7% walk rate. He’s picked up right where he left off so far in 2025, firing 11 2/3 frames with a 1.54 ERA, 34% strikeout rate and 8% walk rate.
Overall, Robert has a 2.45 ERA, 31.7% strikeout rate, 7.8% walk rate and 43.3% ground-ball rate in his past 55 Triple-A innings. That comes on top of his solid MLB debut in ’24. He’s averaged better than 95 mph during during that pair of Triple-A seasons and recorded a swinging-strike rate of nearly 14%. It’s been a nice run for the former 21st-round pick — who’s in the second of three minor league option years — making his DFA something of a surprise in the first place.
Given that recent run, it’s not a surprise that the Rangers were able to acquire a prospect in exchange for Robert — as opposed to the more common cash swaps we see involving players who’ve been designated for assignment. Segura entered the 2025 season ranked 21st among Phillies prospects, per FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen. He’s coming off a season in which he pitched well for six games with the Rangers’ Rookie-level club before moving up to Class-A at just 19 years old (about three years younger than the average player in that league).
Segura was hit hard in A-ball, as one might expect, but he’s been more effective there so far in 2025, his age-20 campaign. He posted a combined 5.76 earned run average in 75 minor league frames last year, all coming as a starter. This year, he’s tossed 17 innings with a 4.24 ERA, 25% strikeout rate and 10.5% walk rate. Those early rate stats represent modest gains over his 2024 levels (22 K%, 11.4 BB%).
Longenhagen highlights Segura’s projectable frame as reason to believe his stuff might play up as he continues to mature. That, paired with a smooth and repeatable delivery that is quite deceptive for right-handed opponents in particular, pushed him into the middle tiers of the Phillies’ prospect rankings at FanGraphs. Baseball America tabbed Segura 28th in Philadelphia’s system a couple years back, praising that same projectable build, his mechanics, and the potential for a plus slider.
Segura is a project, to be sure, but he’s a better prospect than most who are flipped in DFA trades, which seems reflective of the intriguing numbers Robert has posted over the past calendar year.
Never enough pitching.
I don’t see how Dan Bob will help that much, but best of luck to him.
AAA depth
he’s looked good in 5 games
I misread this as the Phillies traded for David Roberts
Robertson
Really a reflection on how poor quality the Phillies bullpen guys are in upper minors.
This. This is AAA depth which shows what you describe
The difference is that he can be optioned and they needed more flexibility in that regard with their bullpen.. Currently only Tanner Banks and Kerkering have options left.
Guys such as Crismatt – once called up he has to go through waivers if they need a quick arm to cover workload innings. So the minor league options for pen arms have become a bigger deal over time.
Great callout.
Thanks – but actually Matt Gelb (I think) had pointed out the fact that Banks and Kerk were the only two two pen guys that had options in an article within the past couple of days. I merely had to retain the information for 24 hours. Granted, for me that can be an achievement at this age, however.
It was simple coincidence that DD made the move for Robert today. A minor depth move, but intelligent all the same by DD..
Seems like a really good pick up for a DFA guy.
Final major league stats as a Phillie. 0 innings pitched.
this looks like classic trade that benefits both teams. I seem to agree with the author, not really sure why he was dfa’d in the first place with his stats and remaining option. Worth trading a very low level prospect