Padres Release Andrew Bellatti
The Padres released right-hander Andrew Bellatti, who’d been pitching with their Triple-A affiliate, per the team’s transaction log. The former Phillies righty signed a minor league deal with the Friars late during spring training.
Bellatti has pitched only 4 2/3 innings in El Paso, but they haven’t gone well. The 33-year-old surrendered six runs on 10 hits and five walks with five punchouts en route to a regrettable 11.57 earned run average. That follows up a tough 2024 season spent entirely at the Triple-A level, wherein Bellatti was tagged for a 5.48 ERA while walking more than 16% of his hitters with the Phillies’ top affiliate.
Back in 2022, Bellatti had an out-of-the-blue campaign in Rob Thomson’s bullpen. He’d previously pitched only 26 2/3 MLB frames, most of which came with the Rays in 2015, but after signing a minor league deal with the Phils, Bellatti rattled off 54 1/3 innings with a 3.31 ERA with a massive 33.9% strikeout rate. He was slowed by a triceps injury the following season and recorded just 24 2/3 innings with an inflated 5.11 ERA and diminished walk and strikeout rates.
Overall, Bellatti has a 3.83 ERA in 105 2/3 big league innings, with the vast majority of his production coming back in 2022. The righty averaged 94.4 mph on his four-seamer during that peak season but was sitting at just 91.7 mph in his brief run with the Padres’ top affiliate.
Padres, Andrew Bellatti Agree To Minor League Contract
The Padres are in agreement with righty reliever Andrew Bellatti, as first reported by Mad Friars and reflected on the MLB.com transaction log. He’ll likely begin the season at Triple-A El Paso.
Bellatti has spent the past few years with the Phillies. He turned in a strong season in middle relief three years ago. Bellatti rattled off 54 1/3 innings of 3.31 ERA ball while striking out more than a third of opposing hitters. His numbers dropped off dramatically the following season. Bellatti’s strikeout rate fell to 22.1% while his ERA climbed by nearly two runs. That cost him his roster spot during the 2023-24 offseason.
Philadelphia ran Bellatti through outright waivers last February. He spent the entire season in Triple-A, where he allowed 5.48 earned runs per nine over 42 2/3 innings. He recorded a mediocre 20.8% strikeout rate and walked over 16% of batters faced. His fastball averaged 92.4 MPH, down two ticks from its 2022 level.
San Diego can assign Bellatti to Triple-A to begin the season. He’s out of options, so if he does pitch his way to the majors at any point, they wouldn’t be able to send him back down without running him through waivers.
10 Players Elect Free Agency
As the offseason nears, a number of players elect minor league free agency each week. These players are separate from six-year MLB free agents, who’ll reach the open market five days after the conclusion of the World Series. Eligible minor leaguers can begin electing free agency as soon as the regular season wraps up. These players were all outrighted off a team’s 40-man roster during the year and have the requisite service time and/or multiple career outrights necessary to reach free agency since they weren’t added back to teams’ rosters.
Electing free agency is the anticipated outcome for these players. There’ll surely be more to test the market in the coming weeks. We’ll offer periodic updates at MLBTR. These transactions are all reflected on the MiLB.com log.
Outfielders
- Nick Gordon (Marlins)
- Rafael Ortega (White Sox)
Pitchers
- Andrew Bellatti (Phillies)
- Jonathan Bermúdez (Marlins)
- Taylor Clarke (Brewers)
- Dylan Covey (Phillies)
- J.P. Feyereisen (Dodgers)
- Brett Kennedy (Reds)
- Nick Nelson (Phillies)
- Wander Suero (Astros)
Phillies Claim Kaleb Ort, Designate Diego Castillo
The Phillies announced today that they have claimed right-hander Kaleb Ort off waivers from the Marlins, with infielder Diego Castillo designated for assignment in a corresponding move. They also announced that right-hander David Buchanan has been signed to a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training. Additionally, both right-hander Andrew Bellatti and outfielder Simón Muzziotti cleared waivers and will remain with the organization.
Ort, 32, has been bouncing around the league in recent months. He finished the regular season with the Red Sox but has since gone to the Mariners, Marlins and now the Phillies. The Fish designated him for assignment last week when they claimed righty Declan Cronin.
The righty has flashed some big velo, which has led to big strikeout numbers in the minors but not yet in the majors. He has thrown 51 2/3 innings in the majors over the past three years, averaging 96 miles per hour on his fastball but allowing 6.27 earned runs per nine innings. He only struck out 20.9% of batters faced while walking 10.2% of them.
His work in the minors has been more impressive. Over that same three-year span, he logged 97 2/3 Triple-A innings with just a 2.76 ERA. He struck out 31.1% of opponents while giving out walks at a 10.9% clip.
Those minor league numbers are clearly enticing to clubs around the league, based on how many transactions he’s been a part of this winter. He still has one minor league option remaining, which adds to the appeal. The Phils have a strong bullpen but can keep Ort in Triple-A until a need arises, if he holds onto his 40-man roster spot.
Castillo, 26, has also been roving around the league this offseason. He spent 2023 with the Diamondbacks but was designated for assignment in December. He has since gone to the Mets, Yankees and Phillies on waiver claims, but has been booted off a roster yet again.
He only played in one big league game last year, spending the vast majority of his time in Triple-A. He did a great job of getting on base but provided little power. In 556 plate appearances, he only hit three home runs but drew walks at a 17.4% clip. His .313/.431/.410 batting line translated to a wRC+ of 117.
In addition to that work at the plate, Castillo also has other attractive attributes. He can play all over the field, having lined up at all four infield spots in his career, as well as the outfield corners. There’s also enough speed for him to have stolen 13 bases last year. He still has an option remaining, allowing him to provide a club with some depth all around the diamond. The Phils will now have a week to trade him or pass him through waivers.
Buchanan, 35 in May, pitched for the Phils in 2014 and 2015, throwing 192 1/3 innings with a 5.01 ERA. He was stuck in the minors in 2016 and has been overseas since then, going to Japan and then Korea. He pitched for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows of Nippon Professional Baseball from 2017 to 2019, putting up a 4.07 ERA in 433 2/3 innings. He then joined the Samsung Lions of the Korea Baseball Organization and has been with them for the past four years with a 3.02 ERA in 699 2/3 innings.
The Phillies are set in the rotation with Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler, Taijuan Walker, Ranger Suárez and Cristopher Sánchez set to be the front five. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski recently spoke about the club’s desire to add more starting depth and then went out and signed Spencer Turnbull. They also have Kolby Allard, Dylan Covey and Max Castillo on the 40-man but Buchanan will give them a bit of non-roster depth.
Bellatti, 32, seemed to be breaking out in 2022 when he posted a 3.31 ERA with a 33.9% strikeout rate. But he couldn’t maintain that in 2023, as his ERA shot up to 5.11 and his strikeout rate dropped to 22.1%. Now out of options, he got nudged off the roster when the Phils acquired Michael Rucker last week and it seems none of the other 29 clubs were willing to grab him. He has previous career outrights and could have elected free agency, but the Phils announced that he will be in camp as a non-roster invitee, so it seems he has decided to stay.
Muzziotti, 25, got to make his major league debut in 2022 but was given just nine plate appearances. He spent all of 2023 in Triple-A, keeping his strikeout rate down to 15.5% but hitting just seven home runs. The resulting .296/.358/.404 slash line amounted to a wRC+ of 93. He stole 26 bases and can play all three outfield spots but no club was willing to take a chance on him. This is his first career outright so he’ll have to stick with the club in a non-roster capacity.
Phillies Acquire Michael Rucker, Designate Andrew Bellatti For Assignment
The Phillies announced Tuesday they’ve acquired reliever Michael Rucker from the Cubs in exchange for cash. He’d been designated for assignment by Chicago last week. In order to open a spot on the 40-man roster, the Phillies designated fellow right-hander Andrew Bellatti for assignment.
Rucker, who turns 30 in April, changes organizations for the first time. The BYU product had been a member of the Cubs since they selected him in the 11th round of the 2016 draft. After a couple seasons as a starter in the minors, he converted to relief by the 2019 campaign. Lofty strikeout tallies in the upper minors in 2019 and ’21 earned him a major league look midway through the 2021 season.
The right-hander has pitched at the MLB level in each of the past three years. He has allowed just under five earned runs per nine through 123 1/3 big league innings. Rucker allowed a near-7.00 ERA as a rookie before turning in a decent 3.95 mark across a personal-high 54 1/3 frames in 2022. Things skewed back in the wrong direction last year, as he was tagged for a 4.91 figure over 40 1/3 innings.
That led the Cubs to squeeze him off the roster when they signed veteran reliever (and former Phillie) Héctor Neris to a one-year deal. Rucker’s arm strength and reasonable peripheral numbers led Philadelphia to take a low-cost look. Rucker has punched out between 21% and 24% of opponents in each of his MLB seasons. He generated ground-balls at a personal-high 51.8% clip a year ago, although he also walked nearly 11% of batters faced. Rucker’s fastball averages just under 95 MPH and he showed some swing-and-miss upside with each of his slider and cutter last season.
Rucker also has a minor league option remaining, so the Phils can keep him at Triple-A Lehigh Valley for another season. That’s not true of Bellatti, whom he replaces on the 40-man roster. Bellatti looked like an excellent find for Philadelphia on a minor league contract heading into 2022, when he turned in a 3.31 ERA over 54 1/3 innings. He didn’t find the same level of success last year, pitching to a 5.11 mark through 24 2/3 big league frames.
The 32-year-old Bellatti posted strong results while in Triple-A a year ago. He worked to a 2.42 ERA with an above-average 25.7% strikeout percentage in 27 appearances with Lehigh Valley. The Phillies have a week to trade him or place him on waivers. Bellatti has been outrighted multiple times in his career, so he’d have the ability to elect free agency if he goes unclaimed in the coming days.
Phillies Place Ranger Suárez On IL With Hamstring Strain
1:30pm: Suárez tells Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer that he has a Grade 1 strain and hopes to return in around 15 days.
12:20pm: The Phillies announced today that left-hander Ranger Suárez has been placed on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to August 16, with a right hamstring strain. Right-hander Andrew Bellatti was recalled in a corresponding move.
Suárez, 27, hits the injured list for the second time this year. He dealt with some forearm tightness in March and began the year on the IL, with the club describing that injury as an elbow strain. Despite that ominous-sounding diagnosis, he was able to return in mid-May and has since made 17 starts. He has a 3.88 earned run average in 97 1/3 innings, along with a 21.3% strikeout rate, 8.4% walk rate and 51.2% ground ball rate.
It’s unclear how long Suárez will be out of action this time, but the Phillies will have to proceed without him for at least a couple of turns through the rotation. Thankfully, they have been running a six-man rotation since acquiring Michael Lorenzen at the deadline and should be able to get by without worrying about replacing Suárez.
Matt Gelb of The Athletic reported a week ago that Cristopher Sánchez was likely to just get one more start before bumped either to the bullpen or the minors. He’s having a solid season with a 3.39 ERA in 11 starts, but the Phils just have a lot of established starters in Suárez, Lorenzen, Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler and Taijuan Walker. But with Suárez set to sit things out for a while, Sánchez can stick around.
That’s fine for the time being but will leave the club a bit thin on depth until Suárez can return. Prospect Andrew Painter was supposed to be in the mix this year but required Tommy John surgery and won’t be back until late 2024 at the earliest. Bailey Falter was dealt to the Pirates for Rodolfo Castro, subtracting another depth starter. Griff McGarry is one of the club’s top pitching prospects but he was recently put on the development list at Triple-A after some struggles. His last start saw him face just seven batters, walking six and hitting another, all of them eventually coming around to score and leaving him with a shocking 50.62 ERA in two Triple-A outings this year. Nick Nelson is probably the next man up since he’s on the 40-man and has a 3.82 ERA in 14 Triple-A starts this year, but his major league work has resulted in a career ERA of 5.38.
The Phils are in good shape overall, currently sporting a record of 66-56 and in possession of the top Wild Card slot in the National League. Even without Suárez, they have a strong group of five starters that can hopefully keep them afloat for the six remaining weeks of the season. Another rotation injury would start to make things feel a bit shaky but hopefully Suárez can return before that becomes a reality.
Phillies Place Jose Alvarado On Injured List
6:29pm: The MRI showed only inflammation, no structural damage, Thomson told reporters (including Gelb). He’ll be shut down from throwing for a few days but seems to have avoided a serious injury.
12:14pm: Alvarado has already undergone an MRI and is meeting with a doctor to evaluate the results, tweets Matt Gelb of The Athletic. Gelb adds that manager Rob Thomson has acknowledged that he is “a little concerned, for sure.”
11:07am: The Phillies announced Wednesday that closer Jose Alvarado has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to inflammation in his left elbow. His IL stint is retroactive to May 8. Right-hander Andrew Bellatti has been reinstated from the 15-day injured list in place of Alvarado.
The team hasn’t provided a timetable on the injury yet, but the loss of Alvarado even for a minimal stint is a notable blow to the roster. Alvarado, who signed a two-year extension prior to the season, has been one of the most dominant relievers in Major League Baseball this season. He’s fired 14 1/3 innings of 1.88 ERA ball with a sensational 46.2% strikeout rate that trails only Cincinnati’s Alexis Diaz for the MLB lead. More impressive is the fact that Alvarado, whose previous command issues are well documented, has yet to issue a walk or hit a batter so far in 2023.
With Alvarado sidelined for at least the next two weeks the Phillies will likely turn to a combination of Craig Kimbrel, Seranthony Dominguez and perhaps Gregory Soto to close down games. Alvarado leads the team with five saves but hasn’t been the sole closer anyhow, as Kimbrel has three saves of his own.
Kimbrel was tagged for three runs in his first appearance of the season before going on a dominant stretch of 10 appearances (10 2/3 innings, two runs, 14-to-4 K/BB ratio). He’s since slipped again, yielding a combined six runs in one inning during two appearances at Dodger Stadium earlier this month, which sent his ERA careening to its current 7.62 level. Dominguez saved nine games for the 2022 Phillies but currently has a 5.02 ERA and has seen his strikeout rate plummet from 29.5% to 20.5% in 2023. Soto notched 30 saves for the 2022 Tigers and is sporing a career-best 30.8% strikeout rate, but he’s also walked 13.8% of his opponents, which has contributed to a lackluster 4.50 ERA.
Suffice it to say, the Phillies certainly aren’t lacking in talented arms with closing experience. However, Alvarado was the only one of the bunch performing at an elite (or even above-average) level early in the 2023 season. They’ll hope for a quick turnaround with no long-term, lingering effects — due both to his general excellence and the nature of the contract he signed six weeks ago. Alvarado would’ve been a free agent following the 2023 season, but he signed a two-year, $18.55MM extension with a club option for a third year in 2026.
Phillies Place Andrew Bellatti On 15-Day IL
The Phillies announced they’ve placed pitcher Andrew Bellatti on the 15-day IL with right triceps tendinitis. The move is retroactive to yesterday. Christopher Sanchez has been activated off the IL to take Bellatti’s spot on the active roster.
Bellatti has struggled to a 6.23 ERA so far this season through 8 2/3 innings. That’s a noticeable step back from 2022, when Bellatti threw 54 1/3 innings of 3.31 ERA ball out of the Phillies’ bullpen. While Bellatti’s velocity has remained intact so far this season, he has seen an uptick in walks and a drop in strikeouts.
It’s not known yet how severe Bellatti’s injury is, although a bit of clarity on the matter may come after today’s match against the Rockies.
Sanchez was hurt in spring training when he went down with a left triceps strain. He’s made two rehab starts since, working to a 1.04 ERA with 11 strikeouts in 8 2/3 innings pitched. The Dominican Republic native has been in the big leagues for the past two seasons, working to a 5.47 ERA across 52 2/3 combined innings. He has one minor league option remaining.
Phillies Announce Five Roster Moves
The Phillies announced five roster moves in advance of today’s game with the Marlins. The Phils have selected the contract of right-hander Andrew Bellatti from Triple-A and also reinstated James Norwood from the bereavement list. Righty Connor Brogdon and left-hander Damon Jones were optioned to Triple-A, while Sam Coonrod was moved to the 60-day injured list to create 40-man roster space for Bellatti.
Coonrod has been dealing with a shoulder strain that initially shut him down at the end of March. The right-hander tossed only 1 2/3 innings of Spring Training action, so between the injury rehab and then making up for his lost preseason work, it was already expected to be a while before Coonrod made his 2022 debut.
The 60-day IL placement means that Coonrod won’t make it back until mid-June at the earliest, which represents another injury setback for the 29-year-old. Coonrod missed over two months last season due to forearm tendinitis, and over three weeks of the shortened 2020 season due a lat strain. That same season also saw Coonrod hit the IL late in the year with another shoulder strain.
Between Coonrod’s injury absence and Brogdon’s demotion, the Phillies find themselves without two of their better relievers from last season. However, since Brogdon has pitched in three of Philadelphia’s last four games, the move is probably just a way to get a fresher arm into the bullpen than indicative of a long-term stint in Triple-A for the right-hander. Brogdon had a rough outing last night, allowing two earned runs and two more inherited runners to score over two-thirds of an inning in a 9-6 loss to the Mets.
Bellatti signed a minor league deal with the Phillies in December after being outrighted off the Marlins’ 40-man roster at the end of last season. After tossing 23 1/3 innings for the Rays in his 2015 rookie season, Bellatti bounced around the minors before finally returning to the majors last year, pitching 3 1/3 innings of relief work out of Miami’s bullpen. Bellatti has a 3.77 ERA and 24.03% strikeout rate over his 547 career frames in the minor leagues.
Phillies Sign Six Players To Minor League Deals
Dec. 15: Bedrosian’s contract was actually agreed to on Dec. 1 but only formally announced by the team this week, MLBTR has learned. That explains any confusion surrounding how the deal was possible, as Bedrosian otherwise appeared ineligible to sign during the lockout by virtue of the fact that he ended the 2021 season on the Phillies’ Major League roster.
Dec. 14: The Phillies announced this evening that they’ve signed six players — all right-handed pitchers — to minor league contracts with invitations to big league Spring Training. Joining the organization are Cam Bedrosian, Andrew Bellatti, Jake Newberry, Joe Gatto, Tyler Cyr and Michael Kelly.
Bedrosian is the best-known of the group. He emerged as a high-leverage arm early in his career with the Angels, a stint highlighted by a brilliant 2016 campaign in which he pitched to a 1.12 ERA across 40 1/3 innings. Bedrosian remained in Anaheim through the end of 2020, but his formerly strong strikeout rate has dropped in recent seasons. That has come in conjunction with a downturn in fastball velocity from the 95-96 MPH range to around 92-93 over the past couple years.
The 2021 season was a struggle for Bedrosian, who split the year between the Reds, A’s and Phils. He combined to work 25 innings over 26 outings, posting a 5.04 ERA/5.27 SIERA. Bedrosian’s 19.8% strikeout percentage was a few points below the league average, while his 14.7% walk rate was a career-high. Still, the 30-year-old made a strong enough impression during a late-season run in Philadelphia to get another opportunity to crack the big league bullpen out of Spring Training. (As an interesting historical footnote, Bedrosian’s father Steve Bedrosian won the 1987 NL Cy Young Award in Philadelphia after saving a league-best 40 games).
Bellatti has appeared in two MLB seasons, six years apart. After working 23 1/3 innings of relief with the Rays in 2015, Bellatti bounced around between various high minors and independent clubs without getting a return opportunity in the majors. His long-awaited break came this past July, when he cracked the Marlins’ MLB roster.
The 30-year-old bounced on and off the Miami roster a few times down the stretch, averaging 94.3 MPH on his heater over a three-game cameo. He spent the bulk of the season with their top affiliate in Jacksonville, where he posted an impressive 1.52 ERA over 29 2/3 frames. Bellatti punched out a lofty 33% of opponents at the minors’ top level while walking a decent 8.7% of batters faced. He was outrighted off the 40-man roster and elected minor league free agency at the end of the season.
Newberry is the other of the Phils’ newcomers with MLB experience. The 27-year-old has suited up with the Royals in each of the past four campaigns. He’s tallied 70 2/3 cumulative innings over 65 relief outings, pitching to a 4.84 ERA with worse than average strikeout and walk numbers (21.9% and 12.7%, respectively). Newberry, who became a minor league free agent at season’s end after being outrighted off the Kansas City roster, has a 4.06 ERA in parts of four Triple-A seasons.
None of Gatto, Cyr nor Kelly has pitched in the big leagues, although Gatto and Kelly have been a part of clubs’ 40-man rosters in the past. Gatto, 26, split the 2021 season between the Rangers’ top two affiliates. He posted a 3.32 ERA with solid strikeout and walk rates (29.2% and 8.1%, respectively) but never got a big league look in Texas. Cyr, 28, has spent his entire career in the Giants’ system, topping out at Triple-A, where he owns a 4.66 ERA. Kelly, 29, has pitched in the Padres, Orioles and Astros systems. He has a 4.76 ERA over four seasons at the minors’ highest level.