Phillies Rumors

Phillies Select McKinley Moore, Designate Jhailyn Ortiz

By Darragh McDonald | April 4, 2023 at 12:35pm CDT

The Phillies announced that right-hander McKinley Moore has had his contract selected. To make room on the active roster, righty Yunior Marté was optioned following last night’s game. To open a spot on the 40-man, outfielder Jhailyn Ortiz was designated for assignment.

Moore, 24, has made a major league roster for the first time in his career and will be making his MLB debut as soon as he gets into a game. A 14th round selection of the White Sox in 2019, he came over to the Phillies in exchange for outfielder Adam Haseley just over a year ago. At the time of that deal, Moore was coming off a season where he racked up strikeouts but also walked a lot of hitters. Splitting his time between Class-A and Class-A Advanced, he tossed 40 2/3 innings with a 4.20 ERA, 32.6% strikeout rate and 11.6% walk rate.

That profile seems to have followed Moore to his new organization. He tossed 49 2/3 Double-A innings last year with a 4.35 ERA, striking out 31.3% of batters faced and getting grounders at a healthy 48.3% clip, but he walked 11.5% of opponents he faced. He had a nice showing in spring last month, not allowing an unearned run over 9 1/3 innings with 11 Ks and just one walk, though he did walk two of the eight hitters he faced in Triple-A recently.

The Phillies probably weren’t expecting or hoping to make a move like this so early in the season but their pitching staff has been stretched by various factors. Ranger Suárez, Andrew Painter, Cristopher Sánchez and Nick Nelson all dealt with various injuries in spring, pushing Matt Strahm from the bullpen to the rotation. Then they were hit around in their first four games, allowing 37 runs while each of Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler and Taijuan Walker failed to go five innings in their respective starts. Only Bailey Falter, who went 5 1/3, managed to get over that line. Strahm is starting tonight but only expected to throw around 65 pitches, per Matt Gelb of The Athletic, given that he wasn’t fully stretched out in spring. With the bullpen already getting heavy work and Strahm’s limited capacity tonight, a fresh arm was needed. Michael Plassmeyer, Erich Uelmen and Luis Ortiz are on the 40-man but were just optioned at the end of camp and can’t be recalled until 15 days have elapsed unless someone goes on the injured list.

All of those circumstances led to Moore’s selection and the designation of Ortiz, a 24-year-old outfielder. Once a high-profile international signing, the Phillies gave him a $4MM bonus when he was first signed in 2015. He’s been considered one of the club’s top prospects since then, with Baseball America ranking him on their top 30 in each season since 2016. As he’s moved up the minor league ladder, he’s continued to show the power that made him so intriguing as an amateur, but with mounting strikeout rates to go with. He was added to the club’s 40-man roster in November 2021 to protect him from being selected in the Rule 5 draft, then spent all of last year in Double-A. He hit 17 home runs in 119 games but also was punched out in 32.7% of his plate appearances. His .237/.319/.415 batting line amounted to a wRC+ of 101.

The Phillies will now have one week to trade Ortiz or pass him through waivers. It’s possible that one of the 29 other clubs is intrigued by his power and prospect pedigree. The strikeouts will obviously raise some concerns, but he still has a couple of option years and could be kept in the minors for the rest of this year and the next by any club willing to give him a 40-man roster spot.

Latest On Bryce Harper

By Mark Polishuk | April 2, 2023 at 10:06pm CDT

During tonight’s Phillies/Rangers matchup on ESPN, Bryce Harper and Phillies manager Rob Thomson shared some positive updates about Harper’s recovery from Tommy John surgery in November. (Hat tip to Corey Seidman of NBC Sports Philadelphia.) Thomson said Harper is likely to hit on the field at Citizens Bank Park on Thursday, prior to the Phils’ home opener against the Reds. Harper has already been doing his usual slate of batting cage work for roughly 10 days.

No update was given on Harper’s timeline, as the former MVP said he is “just trying to get my rehab going as best as possible,” and “just trying to take it each day, make sure I hit every checkpoint.”

“[I’ve] still got a minute to go. Just trying to be smart about it, understanding my good days are going to be good and some days I’ll just be sore and it’ll be a little tougher. But I feel good right now, just got to keep that going and keep doing the same stuff.”

Once Harper does his on-field work, Thomson laid out the gameplan of live batting practice and then progressing to minor league rehab games. While there’s certainly a lot to like about Harper’s progress, these next steps won’t be completed quickly, particularly since Harper both has to recover physically and fully ramp up for the season after missing all of Spring Training. The Phillies initially suggested that Harper would be back by roughly the All-Star break in a DH capacity, and he might return to right field later in the season if all was well with his throwing arm.

However, tonight’s update might be the latest hint that Harper could be activated from the injured list before that July target — for instance, the Phils only placed him on the 10-day version of the IL prior to the season, not the 60-day IL that would normally come with a longer-term injury. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski did suggest that a 60-day placement (which would be backdated to Harper’s initial placement on the 10-day IL on March 30) might still occur if Philadelphia needs to create a 40-man roster spot, but it would seem like the Phillies didn’t want to entirely rule out Harper’s return within the first 60 days of the regular season.

Phillies Sign Jeff Hoffman To Minor League Contract

By Nick Deeds | April 2, 2023 at 10:37am CDT

Right-hander Jeff Hoffman has signed a minor league contract with the Phillies, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The Phillies have added him to their Triple-A roster. According to Heyman, Hoffman will make $1.3MM in the majors and has opt-outs available to him on May 1 and July 1.

Hoffman, the 9th overall pick of the 2014 draft, began his career as a member of the Blue Jays before being traded to the Rockies as part of the Troy Tulowitzki trade. He made his major league debut with the Rockies in 2016, but struggled to a 4.88 ERA and 6.27 FIP in 31 1/3 innings. Though he continued to see playing time in a swing role over the next four seasons, Hoffman never found his footing in Colorado, ending his time with the Rockies with a 5.68 ERA and 5.34 FIP in 230 2/3 innings. The right-hander was then traded to the Reds ahead of the 2021 season in exchange for reliever Robert Stephenson.

In Cincinnati, Hoffman’s career began to turn around. His well below average 18.8% strikeout rate with Colorado climbed to 23.3% with the Reds, though his walk rate also rose to a worrisome 12.8%. Still, in 117 2/3 innings of work with the Reds from 2021-2022, Hoffman posted a 4.28 ERA and 4.86 FIP, good for a 108 ERA+. His best performance came in last season, when the Reds began to use him almost exclusively as a reliever. In 2022, Hoffman posted the first sub-4.00 ERA of his career, with his 3.83 figure standing as 17% better than league average by ERA+.

Hoffman signed with the Twins earlier this offseason, though the club later granted him his release just before Opening Day when it became clear he would not make the club’s roster to start the season. That led Hoffman to Philadelphia, where he figures to serve as depth for the starting rotation with Ranger Suarez, Andrew Painter, Nick Nelson, and Cristopher Sanchez all opening the season on the injured list. With Matt Strahm having stepped into the rotation from the bullpen to fill the vacancy left by Suarez, Hoffman or left-hander Michael Plassmeyer figures to be the next man up should the Phillies suffer another rotation injury.

NL East Notes: Verlander, Wright, Keuchel, Plawecki

By Mark Polishuk | April 1, 2023 at 7:34pm CDT

Justin Verlander’s tenure with the Mets got off to an unfortunate start when the veteran righty was placed on the 15-day injured list due to a teres major strain. The injury was described as “low-grade” in the Mets’ initial release, and a source tells SNY TV’s Andy Martino that Verlander’s strain is “very minor.” More will officially be known when Verlander undergoes a follow-up MRI next week, but it does seem like the ace might be able to be activated from the IL when first eligible. That could mean a home start against the Padres on April 11 or 12, or just out of added precaution, the Mets might wait to activate Verlander until April 14 when the team visits Oakland.

Phillies Place Rafael Marchan On 60-Day Injured List

By Anthony Franco | March 30, 2023 at 12:04pm CDT

The Phillies have placed catcher Rafael Marchán on the 60-day injured list due to a fractured right hamate bone, the club announced. The move clears a 40-man roster spot for Rule 5 selection Noah Song, who was reinstated from military leave. Song won’t go onto the active roster, as he’s being placed on the 15-day IL due to a lower back strain.

Marchán missed most of Spring Training with the wrist issue. The Phils had previously called it a contusion, but today’s revelation of a fracture obviously paints a dimmer picture. He’s now officially out until at least May without much further clarity on his recovery timeline. Marchán played in 23 MLB games between 2020-21 and was the third catcher on the roster behind J.T. Realmuto and Garrett Stubbs. He’s coming off a .233/.316/.358 showing with Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

Philadelphia selected Song away from the Red Sox in the Rule 5 draft. Regarded as a potential first-round talent a few years ago, the righty fell to the fourth because of club concerns about his military commitments. Those have prevented him throwing a single pitch in full season ball but the Phils still rolled the dice to add him to camp. They’ll have to keep him on the active roster or MLB injured list if they don’t want to offer him back to Boston. For now, the back soreness buys Philadelphia some time to gauge his progress before facing that call.

Athletics Trade Cristian Pache To Phillies

By Steve Adams and Darragh McDonald | March 29, 2023 at 11:59pm CDT

The Athletics have traded outfielder Cristian Pache to the Phillies in exchange for minor league right-hander Billy Sullivan, per announcements from both teams. The Phillies opened a spot on the 40-man roster by placing first baseman Rhys Hoskins on the 60-day injured list.

Once one of the sport’s top-ranked overall prospects, the now 24-year-old Pache is an elite defender whose bat has yet to develop at the game’s top levels. He’s also out of minor league options and has been leapfrogged on Oakland’s depth chart by offseason trade acquisition Esteury Ruiz, which led manager Mark Kotsay to announce earlier in the week that Pache wouldn’t make the roster and that the front office was exploring potential trades.

They’ve found a match to their liking in Philadelphia, who’ll presumably use Pache as a reserve outfielder and perhaps a righty-swinging complement to left-handed-hitting center fielder Brandon Marsh. Pache is a particularly logical fit for the Phils, given that he can provide a late-game defensive upgrade over either Kyle Schwarber or Nick Castellanos (either by playing a corner himself or by stepping into center and pushing Marsh to a corner).

Pache has always been rated as an excellent defender going back to his early prospect days with Atlanta and that’s held true during his time in the majors as well. He’s already earned +9 Outs Above Average and +4 Defensive Runs Saved in 824 2/3 innings, though Ultimate Zone Rating does have him slightly below average. The major issue has been on offense, where he has struggled mightily. In 332 career plate appearances thus far, he’s hit just .156/.205/.234 for a wRC+ of 26, indicating he’s been 74% worse than the league average hitter. If the Phillies do plan on platooning him with Marsh, that might be the best use of abilities. He’s produced a passable .214/.267/.337 line against lefties for a wRC+ of 73, compared to a dismal .129/.176/.186 showing against righties, wRC+ of 4. These are fairly small sample sizes but there’s perhaps some glimmer of hope there.

For the A’s, they originally acquired Pache from Atlanta just over a year ago as part of the Matt Olson trade. They still have Shea Langeliers, Ryan Cusick and Joey Estes from that deal, but they surely hoped to get more from Pache in 2022 than they eventually did. He struggled enough that they had to send him to the minors for a few months, exhausting his final option year. When they acquired Ruiz and squeezed Pache out of regular action, they decided to pivot and move on.

In exchange for Pache, the A’s will get Sullivan, a right-handed pitcher who turns 24 next month. He’s spent the past two years getting work as a reliever, spending all of last year at Double-A. He tossed 51 innings over 44 appearances at that level with a 4.59 ERA. His 15% walk rate is very concerning, but he also struck out 32.1% of batters faced and got ground balls at a solid 45.5% clip. He’ll head over to a new organization that will undoubtedly be looking to improve that control in order to get those earned runs down.

Transferring Hoskins to the 60-day IL was an inevitable formality after he recently tore his ACL and will require surgery. That will almost certainly result in him missing the entire 2023 season.

Rockies Trade T.J. Zeuch To Phillies

By Anthony Franco | March 28, 2023 at 8:28pm CDT

The Rockies have traded T.J. Zeuch to the Phillies, according to the right-hander’s transaction log at MLB.com. He was not on Colorado’s 40-man roster, so he’ll add some non-roster depth to the upper minors with Philadelphia.

Zeuch signed a minor league deal with Colorado over the offseason. The 6’7″ hurler pitched four times this spring, allowing eight runs in as many innings with seven strikeouts and five walks. Even with the Rox having a decent amount of uncertainty at the back end of the rotation, that predictably wasn’t enough to land him a roster spot. Colorado trades away a depth starter for the second time today after sending righty Tony Locey to Tampa Bay this morning.

The Phillies have been hit with a number of pitching injuries over the past few weeks. Ranger Suárez has been bothered by elbow soreness this spring and might start the year on the injured list. Top pitching prospect Andrew Painter, who entered camp battling for the fifth starter job, went down with a UCL sprain. Depth arms Cristopher Sánchez and Nick Nelson have battled injuries of their own. That pushes expected reliever Matt Strahm into the season-opening rotation and has a trickle-down effect on the minor league depth.

Zeuch will open the season at Triple-A Lehigh Valley. A former first-round draftee of the Blue Jays, he’s pitched in parts of four big league campaigns. The Pitt product has a 6.49 ERA across 59 2/3 major league innings, posting a quality grounder rate but dismal strikeout and walk numbers. He has a 4.71 ERA over 216 innings at the Triple-A level.

NL Notes: Strahm, Mendick, Hamels, Panik

By Nick Deeds | March 26, 2023 at 10:40pm CDT

With Ranger Suarez unlikely to be ready for the first turn through the rotation this season, Phillies manager Rob Thomson announced to reporters, including Alex Coffey of The Philadelphia Inquirer, that left-hander Matt Strahm would start the fifth game of the season for Philadelphia, joining Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler, Taijuan Walker and Bailey Falter in the rotation while Suarez is on the shelf.

Strahm signed with the Phillies as a reliever this offseason but has 25 career starts in the big leagues under his belt as well. That being said, his 5.08 career ERA in 108 innings of work as a starter pales in comparison to his 3.11 ERA in 196 2/3 relief innings. That said, Strahm nonetheless represents a serviceable option to fill in for Suarez in the short-term, particularly seeing as Thomson notes he will likely be limited to between 65 and 70 pitches in his first start, as he is not fully stretched out yet. That low pitch count could help him avoid facing batters for a third time, a challenge he has only faced in 75 plate appearances in his career to this point.

Injury Notes: Nevin, Severino, Houser, Suarez, Suzuki

By Mark Polishuk | March 26, 2023 at 12:18pm CDT

As expected, the Tigers will place Tyler Nevin on the 10-day injured list to begin the season. Nevin suffered a Grade 1 oblique strain a little less than three weeks ago, making it doubtful that the 25-year-old would be fully recovered in time for Opening Day. However, it is possible Nevin won’t miss much time, as Tigers manager A.J. Hinch told reporters (including Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press) that Nevin is on pace to start a rehab assignment this week.

Even a brief IL stint isn’t an ideal way for Nevin to begin his tenure with his new team, as he was only acquired by the Tigers in a swap with the Orioles back in December. Nevin’s ability to play both corner infield and outfield positions makes him an interesting commodity on Detroit’s roster, as this versatility and Nevin’s right-handed bat made him a natural platoon partner or complement to such left-handed batters as Austin Meadows, Akil Baddoo, Nick Maton, or Kerry Carpenter.

More on other injury situations around baseball…

Luis Severino is another player headed for a season-opening IL stint, as the Yankees right-hander has suffered a lat strain. This particular injury is a concern given that Severino missed over two months of the 2022 season with another lat strain, but the pitcher told reporters (including Greg Joyce of the New York Post) that this strain in lower in his back than last year’s problem and doesn’t seem as serious. Severino suggested that he could miss “three or four starts,” but a more specific timeline isn’t known, since “I’m going to be a little bit cautious, but I think the Yankees are going to be more cautious than me.” Last summer, Severino expressed both surprise and public displeasure with the Yankees’ decision to shift him from the 15-day to the 60-day IL, as he expecting a quicker return to action.
Brewers right-hander Adrian Houser left his spring outing yesterday due to groin tightness, and the club will further examine his status today. The same injury bothered Houser both earlier in Spring Training and at the end of last season, resulting in an IL stint. Considering the recurring nature of the groin problem and the close proximity to Opening Day, it certainly seems possible the Milwaukee could start Houser on the IL once more. As the odd man out of a deep Brewers rotation, Houser had been tabbed for a relief role to begin the season, with the understanding that he is also the team’s unofficial sixth starter in the event of an injury.
Ranger Suarez played catch on Friday and Saturday, telling Alex Coffey of the Philadelphia Inquirer that his left arm still had some tightness but no pain. In general, Suarez felt “nothing too bad” and his forearm was doing “better.” Despite this fairly positive update, it still seems unlikely that Suarez will be able to avoid an IL trip given how the Phillies will probably be cautious with a case of elbow inflammation. The left-hander was projected to be either the third or fourth starter in Philadelphia’s rotation this season, but with his likely absence for part of April, Bailey Falter will step into that vacancy in the starting five. Matt Strahm or Michael Plassmeyer could take the fifth starter job, as top prospect Andrew Painter, Cristopher Sanchez, and Nick Nelson are also battling injuries.
The Cubs haven’t yet decided how they’ll replace Seiya Suzuki on their season-opening roster, as Suzuki will need a 10-day IL stint after missing the last month of Spring Training due to an oblique strain. Suzuki is making such steady development in his rehab work that even though he’ll miss some time during the regular season, it may not be all that much time. “Whether you are trying to put somebody on the [40-man] roster that’s not on it or trying to fill a gap for 10 days is a big deal,” Cubs manager David Ross told Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times and other reporters. “And it’s a big decision. We have so much talent and a lot of depth here. We would like to keep as much as we possibly can because of the long journey we’re about to start.”

Phillies, Aaron Nola End Extension Negotiations Until After The Season

By Mark Polishuk | March 25, 2023 at 11:39am CDT

Last month, the Phillies and Aaron Nola’s representatives were reportedly exchanging figures about a possible long-term contract extension, creating some feeling that a new deal might be in the works. However, it doesn’t look like the two sides will reach agreement, as Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski told the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Alex Coffey (Twitter links) that the two sides have ended talks.

“We think the world of him, quality pitcher, quality human being, but sometimes you get to this point where you’re not able to consummate a deal that both sides feel comfortable,” Dombrowski said. “We’re very open minded to trying to sign him at the end of the season. We’re hopeful he’ll remain a Phillie for a long time.”

Joe Longo, Nola’s agent, also made a statement, telling Coffey that “we had good communication with the Phillies. We just couldn’t agree at this time. We’ll pick up the conversation again at the end of the season.”

Like most players, Nola indicated that he didn’t want negotiations to stretch beyond Opening Day, as he wanted to entirely focus on baseball once the season was underway. With that unofficial deadline still five days away, it’s possible that either Nola’s camp or the Phillies could restart contract talks with one phone call, yet the public declarations by both Dombrowski and Longo would seemingly indicate that the matter has been put on hold.

Nola signed a four-year, $45MM extension with Philadelphia in February 2019, and that deal became a five-year, $56.75MM pact last November when the Phillies exercised their $16MM club option on Nola for the 2023 season. There was no doubt that the option would be picked up, given how well Nola has pitched over his eight seasons for the reigning NL champions. The 2022 campaign saw Nola post a career-best 6.3 fWAR over 205 innings while posting a 3.25 ERA and a range of excellent secondary metrics.

Between Nola’s performance, durability, and age (he doesn’t turn 30 until June), he will be one of the top names in the 2023-24 free agent class, let alone one of the top pitchers. Shohei Ohtani is on his own level given his unique two-way status, but among regular pitchers, only Julio Urias might rival Nola for the top contract given to a hurler next winter.

While the Phillies aren’t shy about giving out big contracts, they would’ve had to pay handsomely in an extension in order to retain Nola so close to his first trip to the open market. The club still retains exclusive negotiating rights with Nola until free agency officially opens (five days after the end of the World Series), yet it isn’t very common to see an extension struck with a top-tier player within that small window between the end of the season and the opening of the free agent window, and the Phillies would likely have to pay even more of a premium to extend Nola at that even later date.

That said, a reunion between the two sides shouldn’t be ruled out, even if the Phillies do end up bidding against other suitors. The Phillies were able to re-sign J.T. Realmuto when the catcher entered the open market during the 2020-21 offseason, and spending in free agency hasn’t been an issue in general given how Philadelphia has landed the likes of Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, Zack Wheeler, Kyle Schwarber, Taijuan Walker, and Nick Castellanos to big multi-year deals. The Phillies exceeded the luxury tax in 2022 and are projected to exceed the second tier ($253MM+) of tax penalties in 2023.

With Walker just signed to bolster the rotation this winter, Philadelphia has Nola under control through 2023, Wheeler through 2024, Ranger Suarez through 2025 via arbitration, and Walker through 2026. Between this staggered list, Suarez’s relatively inexpensive price tag as an arb-eligible player, and the team’s hopes that younger arms like Bailey Falter, Andrew Painter, and Mick Abel can provide bargain production in the near future, it stands to reason that the Phillies might pursue re-signing Nola as a hedge against Wheeler’s possible departure following the 2024 campaign. Or, it is possible that by season’s end, the Phillies are confident enough in their young pitching depth to let Nola leave, and recoup a draft pick as compensation (though the placement of that pick will fall due to the Phils’ status as luxury tax payors).

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