The Phillies are going to select right-hander Walker Buehler to the roster to start tonight’s game. Left-hander José Alvarado will be placed on the injured list to open an active roster spot, per Matt Gelb of The Athletic. The nature of Alvarado’s injury is unclear. The Phils will also need to open a 40-man roster spot.
Buehler signed a minor league deal with the Phils a couple of weeks ago, after he had been released by the Red Sox. It was a bit of a surprise that Boston let him go, if only because they had made a notable $21.05MM commitment to him this year, but the move was also justified by Buehler’s poor performance.
Earlier in his career, Buehler was arguably an ace. While pitching for the Dodgers, he twice finished in the top ten in National League Cy Young voting, including a fourth-place finish in 2021. But he missed the 2023 campaign recovering from Tommy John surgery, the second such procedure of his career, and hasn’t looked the same since. From the start of 2024 until the present, he has logged 187 2/3 innings with a 5.42 earned run average, 17.4% strikeout rate, 9.7% walk rate and 45.1% ground ball rate.
Despite his recent struggles, he was a sensible pick-up for the Phils. They recently lost Zack Wheeler due to a blood clot/thoracic outlet syndrome diagnosis. Even without Wheeler, they had a solid rotation group consisting of Aaron Nola, Ranger Suarez, Jesús Luzardo, Cristopher Sánchez and Taijuan Walker. But bringing in Buehler added another arm at no extra cost. Since the Sox released him, they are on the hook for the majority of his remaining salary. The Phils will only have to pay him the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the roster.
At this point, it’s unclear exactly how long he will spend on the roster. The Phils are currently in the midst of a stretch where in they play 15 days in a row. After today, there are five more games in that span. They then only play three times in the following five days, before finishing out the schedule with six in a row.
It’s possible this is just a spot start to give the starters some extra rest during a tough part of the schedule. After today, it would make sense to go back down to five guys. The Phils are cruising to a playoff spot and also to a bye through the Wild Card round. They have an 11-game lead over the Mets in the East and will surely win that division. They are two games behind the Brewers for top spot in the National League but 4.5 games clear of the Dodgers.
That comfortable position could entice them to rest some of their starters. But on the other hand, since they are likely to be sitting out the first round, the pitchers are already looking at having almost a full week off between the regular season and the Division Series round. In order to avoid rust build-up, they may want their pitchers to keep throwing all the way through the end of the schedule. Time will tell if Buehler sticks around with the aim of making another start, gets moved to a long relief role or bumped back off the roster entirely.
As for Alvarado, his absence shouldn’t be too consequential, especially in the short term. He’s been putting up good numbers this year but isn’t eligible for the postseason due to the PED suspension he received earlier this year. His absence hurts the bullpen for the final few weeks of the regular season but, as mentioned, the Phils are in a pretty comfortable position in the playoff picture.
If it’s a long-term injury, then that would be more notable. The club has a $9MM club option for his services in 2026 with a $500K buyout. Naturally, a serious injury that would extend into next year could impact the club’s decision on that option.
Photo courtesy of Brian Fluharty, Imagn Images
Guess is he gets 2 starts, then moves to a bullpen role.
Very curious to see him throw tonight
With the Red Sox luck he goes 9 with 12 Ks.
I always wonder when a player gets a deal that has some fractional amount tacked on- is it superstition, is it some kind of budget percentage calculation, is it relative to comparable players and it is an exact percentage more than someone they consider themselves exactly that much more valuable than?
$21,050,000- I just wonder how and why that $50k is there. Any guesses/insights?
I think it was the QO amount that he thought he was going to be offered by LAD and wasn’t.
That was the same amount he turned down from LA. That was thr QO last year.
All the above
Turk Wendell, number 99 for the Mets, for example, signed for 9,999,999.99
Other players, I’m sure, sign contracts for specific take home amounts
Juan – not quite all. He was not offered the QO – it was a hit of a shocker but the thinking is that LAD was doing him a favor by not tying him tj a draft pick. That said, LaD may have just gotten some good press for a decision that they were never going to make anyway!
You’re all right. Forgot it simply matched the Qualifying Offer. I already understood how the QO is calculated.
Makes perfect sense now.
DFA of Romano incoming?
Matt Manning. Romano survives.
Phillies won’t dfa Romano at this point.
He’ll just stay on the IL and collect service time.
Players notice this….
Good luck to Buehler in Philly. Showed flashes of brilliance in a handful of starts for the Sox but just lacked consistency to do it in consecutive outings
The hope is that Buehler will replace Walker in the rotation. It will play out tonight!!
The Phillies have 3 at the Dodgers, starting on Monday, and 3 more at Arizona. The #2 seed, is far from secured. Tonight is an audition, and will determine how Buehler fits into the Phillies plans moving forward.
First priority for the Fightins’ is clinching the NL East. If that doesn’t happen at home vs. Kansas City, it’ll happen in Chavez Ravine or downtown Phoenix.
Shoulda been a Brewer. Perfect for them.
Wonder how he’ll perform in Philly compared to Boston?
Alvarado may have thrown his last pitch for the Phillies. Buying him out seems a good way to save some money for more reliable and important personnel.
Scuttlebut is they’ll pick up his option.
At @9 mil he’s worth it.
Still only a 1 yr deal….