The Phillies and left-hander Tucker Davidson have agreed to a minor league deal, reports Will Sammon of The Athletic. Sammon doesn’t mention whether or not the ISE Baseball client will be in big league camp in spring training.
Davidson, 30 in March, pitched in the majors from 2020 to 2024. He logged 129 2/3 innings for the Braves, Angels, Royals and Orioles, allowing 5.76 earned runs per nine. He had better minor league numbers in that span, tossing 219 Triple-A frames with a 3.86 ERA, striking out 24.5% of batters faced against an 8% walk rate while also getting grounders on about half the balls in play he allowed.
With the lack of big league success, he exhausted his option seasons in that span. Instead of sticking around in North America for minor league opportunities, he took an offer to go overseas. Going into 2025, he signed with the Lotte Giants of the Korea Baseball Organization. That stint in the KBO seemed to go well, based on the numbers. He made 22 starts for the Giants with a 3.65 ERA, 22.5% strikeout rate, 9.1% walk rate and 46.4% ground ball rate.
Despite those decent results, the Giants decided to make a switch in August. They signed Vince Velasquez and bumped Davidson off their roster. Davidson then landed a minor league deal with the Brewers. He made six starts for their Triple-A club with a 4.68 ERA, 22.9% strikeout rate and 6.4% walk rate. His fastball averaged under 90 miles per hour but he also featured a splitter, sinker, slider and curveball.
The Phillies have a bit of rotation uncertainty going into the season. They will have Cristopher Sánchez, Jesús Luzardo, Aaron Nola and Taijuan Walker in four spots. Zack Wheeler will certainly be in there if he’s healthy but he’s recovering from surgery to address thoracic outlet syndrome and may not be ready by Opening Day.
If Wheeler is on the shelf or anyone else gets hurt, Andrew Painter could step up. However, he still has no major league experience and posted a 5.40 ERA in Triple-A last year. Other inexperienced depth options on the roster include Yoniel Curet, Jean Cabrera and Alan Rangel. Davidson gives the Phils some more depth without taking up a roster spot.
Photo courtesy of Kamil Krzaczynski, Imagn Images
Wrong Tucker lol
got a lil excited there lol
Good – Me too, thought it was Chris Tucker.
I was wondering when Pete Davidson started playing pro baseball.
I read “Phillies sign Tucker” and clicked the link before the rest sunk in.
My eyes tricked me a second there.
You’re not the only one. Me too. Think I read that three times. My brain short-circuited.
Yuuuup
Ohhh god!
Is there another Tucker?
Sal – Tanya Tucker 😍
Great depth pickup he did terrible his first two starts stateside but had a 2.08 ERA in his 4 starts in September. He won’t be a huge contributor likely but I imagine he will put up decent numbers when needed.
tucker signed!
Phil’s sign Tucker!
They have plenty of room for Bellinger too.
Glad to see Tucker finally finding a home.
Phillies sign TUCKER !!
Making money moves!
Phillies need someine to sound the Liberty Bell. Maybe Bellringer is next.
Would rather see Suarez
Walter Buehler, who pitched well for us last year, isn’t getting any love from the Phillies or anyone else. Would like to see him back with the Phillies as our #5 SP. Don’t wanna see Taijuan Walker any longer.
Totally agree. I liked what I saw last fall and he has experience.plus he can be a swing guy.
Buehler could be the 5th starter to open the season, then matriculate to a long relief/swing role when Wheeler returns in May. Totally on board with that idea. The Phillies should try to use Walker in a trade with a SP needy team like the Angels, Red Sox, White Sox or Rockies – for a RH OF bat and/or RP that’s fallen out of favor with their current club.
Rockies acquire:
Taijuan Walker
Johan Rojas CF
Felix Reyes 3B
Keaton Anthony 1B
Phillies acquire:
Brenton Doyle CF (157 OPS+ vs. LHP)
Victor Vodnik RHP
Something like that.
At least he throws left handed. The Phillies FO and Player Development Department has done a great job developing/tinkering with pitchers like Ranger Suarez, Christopher Sanchez, Matt Strahm and Tanner Banks.
Other LHP’s that could be acquired via minor league deals Phillies could potentially fix: Genesis Cabrera, Omar Cruz and Jay Groome are all worth a flier.
Lol
So…..they need.an editor?
That is pretty tricky for an editor-less group of quill drivers….