The Phillies announced they have claimed outfielder Pedro León off waivers from the Orioles. Francys Romero of BeisbolFR reported the claim prior to the official announcement. The O’s had designated him for assignment a few days ago. Philadelphia’s roster count climbs from 33 to 34.
León, 28 in May, was once a notable prospect but his stock has fallen in recent years. After he defected from Cuba, the Astros signed him via a $4MM signing bonus in January of 2021. He featured prominently on prospect lists for a few years but has hit a few roadblocks.
From 2021 to 2023, his results in the minors were passable but unexciting. He struck out in 29% of his plate appearances and produced a combined line of .233/.350/.419. That resulted in a 104 wRC+, indicating he was above league average but barely.
In 2024, he still struck out 27% of the time put up a huge .299/.372/.514 line in Triple-A. Even in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, was good enough for a 130 wRC+, or 30% better than league average. He got to make his major league debut that year but hit just .100/.143/.100 in a tiny sample of 21 plate appearances. 2025 was mostly a lost year, as he sprained the MCL in his left knee and was limited to just 22 Triple-A contests, with a .241/.312/.422 and wRC+ of 89 in 94 plate appearances.
The Astros had a roster crunch at season’s end, which bumped León to the waiver wire. The O’s grabbed him but bumped him off less than two weeks later due to their own roster crunch. For the Phils, it’s a pretty sensible addition. They have tons of roster space to work with at the moment. León still has options, meaning he doesn’t need to be guaranteed a spot on the big league roster. They are planning to remake their outfield this winter. Time will tell how that plays out, but it seems likely they will move on from Nick Castellanos while pursuing external additions. Even if there’s no spot for León when the dust settles, they can send him to Triple-A to see if he engineers a post-hype breakout.
Photo courtesy of Thomas Shea, Imagn Images
He is a solid AAAA player.
I feel like 21 MLB at bats is not enough of a sample size to determine a player is AAAA
That’s fair. He just seemed to be a feast or famine kind of guy at AAA because he would hit for power or strikeout. I didn’t follow him closely but remembered him being a highly ranked prospect who kind fell out.
Phillies collecting failed top 100 prospects like infinity stones lately
They are inevitable.
The Phillies really did Ponce on de Leon.
That’s gold!!
Apparently, the Phillies are going with a (fountain of) youth movement.
A top international top prosepct with top 10 draft pick caliber from the Astros, after being placed on waivers, he was claimed by the Orioles.. But during a roster crunch, he was designated for assignment and is now one the Phillies.
The Phillies’ long standing issue has been an inability to draft and/or develop virtually any quality outfielders. You may have to go back to the Pat Burrell years. That’s incredibly bad. Hopefully Crawford ends that trend but, until then, the Phillies must sign free agents, make trades and hope to get lucky with guys like Leon.
Phillies just keep going after the same garbage. Strikeout machines
It’s…a waiver claim.
How much do they pay for waiver claims? 50k? 100k? What a waste!
Boo this, boo that. Time for my break.
I find it odd that the Astros let this guy go but tendered a contract to Taylor Trammell. Baffling
He better not cut into Nicky the C’s playing time. Nicky don’t go for that
He’ll be the next Bobby Abreu. Now come at me!