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Royals Select Taylor Clarke, Option Noah Cameron

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The Royals have selected the contract of righty Taylor Clarke from Triple-A Omaha and optioned lefty Noah Cameron back to Triple-A after yesterday’s MLB debut, per a team announcement. Righty James McArthur was transferred from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL to open a spot on the 40-man roster for Clarke. McArthur has been on the IL all season while recovering from surgery to repair an olecranon fracture in his elbow — a procedure that saw two screws installed to help stabilize the joint.

Clarke, 32 in a couple weeks, pitched for Kansas City from 2022-23. That stretch marks the last time he took the mound in the big leagues. The Royals traded him to the Brewers in the 2023-24 offseason, and he spent last year with Milwaukee’s Triple-A club in Nashville, pitching to a 4.90 ERA in 68 frames.

Clarke was solid for the Royals in 2022 and struggled in 2023. He’s had something of a rollercoaster career between the D-backs and Royals, which has evened out with a 5.03 ERA, 21.4% strikeout rate and 8% walk rate in 279 1/3 innings of major league experience. The lanky 6’4″ righty returned to the Royals on a minor league contract over the winter and has enjoyed decent performances both in spring training and in Omaha. In 14 1/3 innings of Triple-A work this year, he’s logged a 4.40 ERA with a rough 15.3% strikeout rate but a respectable 8% walk rate. The vast majority of his struggles in Omaha came in one particularly rough appearance, wherein the Orioles’ Triple-A squad trounced him for four runs.

Cameron is considered to be one of the Royals’ top pitching prospects. The 2021 seventh-rounder fired 6 1/3 shutout innings during yesterday’s debut and even took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, although he did so while issuing five walks against only three strikeouts. It was a nice debut all the same, and he was rewarded with his first big league win in his first day on the job.

That was always known to be a spot start, however, so it should come as little surprise to see Cameron sent back to Omaha. He was filling in for ace Cole Ragans, who’s nursing a minor groin injury, but the Royals have (at least thus far) opted not to even place Ragans on the injured list. He’s slated take the mound for Kansas City on Sunday after being afforded some extra downtime with Cameron’s spot start. With Ragans, Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, Kris Bubic and Michael Lorenzen all healthy, Cameron will head back to Omaha. He’ll be a top option for the club, should a need in the rotation arise in the weeks ahead.

Royals’ James McArthur Recovering From Elbow Surgery

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Royals right-hander James McArthur underwent surgery to repair a fractured olecranon in his right elbow and is behind schedule this spring, per Jaylon Thompson of the Kansas City Star. McArthur, who had two screws installed in his pitching elbow, is just now beginning to throw. It’s not clear exactly when McArthur had the procedure, but he ended the 2024 season on the shelf with an elbow issue. The fact that he’s even cleared for light throwing at this stage indicates the procedure took place a fair bit ago.

The 28-year-old McArthur looked like a breakout candidate late in the 2023 season. Acquired in a minor trade after being designated for assignment in Philadelphia, McArthur erupted as one of the most dominant relievers in the sport in September of 2023. An out-of-nowhere but eye-popping run of 16 1/3 shutout innings with just five hits allowed, no walks and 19 punchouts thrust McArthur into the Royals’ late-inning mix and positioned him as the team’s closer early in 2024. That brilliant finish coincided with some changes to his pitch selection; after being optioned to Triple-A in mid-August, McArthur returned in September throwing far fewer sinkers but far more sliders and curveballs.

McArthur had a rough start in 2024, yielding four runs in his first three innings before finding his groove. He pitched to a 3.35 ERA from that point through the remainder of the first half and carried an overall 3.99 earned run average into the All-Star break. His strikeout rate wasn’t close to the prior year, but McArthur was boasting elite command and a massive 57% grounder rate. He looked very much like a nice diamond-in-the-rough find by the Kansas City front office.

Perhaps that’ll still prove to be the case long term, but McArthur stumbled immediately out of the gate in the second half, serving up nine runs (eight earned) in his first three appearances. The rest of his season proved to be a struggle. McArthur pitched to a 6.87 ERA in his final 18 1/3 innings. His walk rate spiked from 4.4% in the first half to 8% in the second half. After averaging 95 mph on his sinker through the break, McArthur’s velocity began to fade. He only topped a 95 mph average on that sinker in one of his final eight appearances. His grounder rate dipped from 57% to 50%, and he didn’t pitch again after Sept. 16.

The season-ending IL placement and subsequent offseason surgery rather emphatically prove that McArthur was pitching at less than 100% down the stretch. The hope for the Royals, clearly, will be that McArthur’s late downturn was a symptom of his elbow troubles. From the point of that repertoire change in late ’23 through the All-Star break in ’24, McArthur totaled 54 2/3 innings with a 2.80 ERA, 23% strikeout rate, 3.3% walk rate and 54.9% grounder rate. If he can come even close to those levels again, he’ll be a vital part of the Royals’ late-inning attack not only in 2025 but for several years to come. McArthur is under club control through 2029 and won’t be arbitration-eligible until the 2025-26 offseason, when he’ll be a Super Two player.

For now, the Royals’ bullpen will be headlined by free agent signing Carlos Estevez and 2024 deadline acquisitions Lucas Erceg and Hunter Harvey. That’s a formidable high-leverage trio in its own right, and the September-through-July version of McArthur would only further strengthen the group for second-year skipper Matt Quatraro.

Also worth noting, per Thompson, is that righty Alec Marsh is a bit behind schedule after battling some shoulder tightness during his offseason program. He’s seemingly past that issue now, as he’s progressed into a throwing program, but he’s not quite where he would be with a normal offseason. Health permitting, Marsh would be a part of a competition for the fifth rotation spot behind Cole Ragans, Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha and Michael Lorenzen. Marsh, Kris Bubic and Kyle Wright are presumably all in that mix. Bubic arguably should’ve been considered the favorite even before this news, but Marsh’s delay in facing hitters (while Wright hasn’t pitched since 2023 due to shoulder surgery) only strengthen Bubic’s case.

Royals Notes: Lorenzen, Marsh, Harvey, McArthur

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Michael Lorenzen will return from the 15-day injured list tomorrow. The Royals list him as the probable starter for the second game of their series in Washington. Kansas City will need to make a corresponding active roster move.

It’s a crucial start as K.C. fights for a playoff spot. The Royals squeaked out a 1-0 win in extra innings over the Nationals tonight. That kept them in front of the Tigers for the AL’s second Wild Card spot via the tiebreaker. They’re two games up on the Twins and 2.5 clear of the Mariners in the race.

Lorenzen has been down for more than a month because of a left hamstring strain. Acquired from the Rangers at the deadline, the righty had a sparkling 1.85 earned run average in 24 1/3 innings over his first five starts. That excellent run prevention was in spite of mediocre strikeout (17%) and walk (10%) rates. Lorenzen’s results have generally outpaced his peripherals for consecutive seasons. He carries a 3.43 ERA over 126 frames between Texas and K.C. this year.

Alec Marsh stepped back into the rotation while Lorenzen was on the shelf. He pitched fairly well, turning in a 4.50 ERA while striking out more than 32% of opponents over four starts. Marsh is moving into the bullpen to open a rotation spot, tweets Jaylon Thompson of the K.C. Star. The 26-year-old righty has turned in a 4.65 ERA with a solid 23% strikeout rate over 25 appearances (24 starts) on the year. He had an excellent start to the season before a terrible July led the Royals to option him to Triple-A for the three weeks preceding Lorenzen’s injury.

While Lorenzen’s return is a boost to the pitching staff, skipper Matt Quatraro provided disheartening updates on a pair of relievers this afternoon. The Royals have officially ruled out Hunter Harvey and James McArthur for the season, Quatraro said (X link via Anne Rogers of MLB.com). Harvey has been out since the middle of August with a back injury, while the Royals lost McArthur to an elbow sprain last week.

Quatraro said the Royals were sending Harvey for a second opinion, which at least raises the question of whether he’ll need surgery. Injuries have been a recurring problem for the 29-year-old righty. Harvey underwent Tommy John surgery as a prospect and has had extended absences during his MLB career for forearm, lat and elbow injuries.

Harvey can be a high-leverage reliever at his best, as he showed with the Nationals between 2023-24. He fired 60 2/3 innings of 2.82 ERA ball last season. This season’s 4.20 mark across 45 frames wasn’t as impressive, but Harvey punched out more than 26% of opponents behind a 13.4% swinging strike rate. The Royals viewed him as a late-game weapon and sent third base prospect Cayden Wallace plus the 39th pick in this summer’s draft to acquire him. They’ve gotten essentially nothing out of that deal, as Harvey allowed four runs over 5 2/3 innings before going on the shelf.

Kansas City controls Harvey for one more year via arbitration. The Royals would tender him a contract if they expect him to be back early in 2025, but a long-term injury could obviously change the calculus. He’d be due a small raise on this year’s $2.325MM sum.

McArthur operated as Kansas City’s closer for a time. He picked up 18 saves but also blew seven leads. McArthur’s heavy reliance on ground-balls without many whiffs plays better in the middle innings than it does in the ninth. His year concludes with a 4.92 ERA through 56 2/3 frames. The Royals are using deadline acquisition Lucas Erceg as their closer while turning high-leverage innings to converted starter Kris Bubic and left-hander Sam Long.

Royals’ James McArthur Placed On Injured List

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2:45pm: The Royals have placed McArthur on the 15-day IL with a right elbow sprain, recalling right-hander Steven Cruz in a corresponding move.

11:43am: Royals reliever James McArthur exited last night’s game due to elbow tightness, the team announced. He’s undergoing testing today to determine the source of the discomfort and the severity of any potential injury, per Anne Rogers of MLB.com.

McArthur initially looked to have suffered a hand injury when covering first base on an infield single off the bat of Zach McKinstry, but manager Matt Quatraro tells Rogers that wasn’t the issue. McArthur stayed in to face the next batter after McKinstry reached but shook his arm after missing badly off the plate on a fastball to Jake Rogers (video link). He began to set for his next pitch, but catcher Salvador Perez called for the training staff after seeing his right-hander shake that arm. Per Quatraro, McArthur acknowledged that “something felt off” in his arm, and he quickly departed with trainer Chris DeLucia.

The 27-year-old McArthur opened the 2024 season as the Royals’ closer and still leads the club with 18 saves, though he’s since ceded ninth-inning duties to deadline acquisition Lucas Erceg. That switch was borne both out of both Erceg’s excellence and a midseason rough patch for the hard-throwing McArthur. After a couple of rocky appearances to begin the season, McArthur found his groove and rattled off 36 2/3 innings of 3.22 ERA ball from April 5 through July 23. Those are arbitrary endpoints, of course, but it’s roughly half a season’s worth of quality bullpen work from a pitcher who’d been trusted with the highest-leverage role in Quatraro’s bullpen.

McArthur, however, was shelled for eight runs over his next two appearances on July 24 and 28. The Royals acquired Erceg from the Athletics two days later. McArthur has pitched primarily in a middle relief role since and has a 3.77 ERA in 14 1/3 innings in that span, with the bulk of the damage against him coming in one brutal day at Yankee Stadium. Overall, McArthur has a 4.92 ERA on the season, although that number is skewed heavily by his past six weeks or so of tumultuous performance.

There hasn’t been a pronounced drop in McArthur’s velocity, although his sinker is down a bit in recent outings. He averaged 95.1 mph on the pitch through the sixth of September but has seen the pitch clock in at an average of 94.3 mph across his past three appearances. McArthur has had similar dips in velocity throughout the year, so it’s not necessarily alarming in isolation, but any change in stuff/velocity when coupled with arm discomfort is a red flag.

The Royals are already without deadline pickup Hunter Harvey (back strain) and veteran free-agent signees Will Smith (back spasms) and Chris Stratton (flexor strain). Erceg, John Schreiber and former starters Kric Bubic and Daniel Lynch IV are among the top options left in an increasingly injury-marred Kansas City bullpen.

AL Notes: Soroka, Harvey, McCullers, Pederson

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Michael Soroka only three pitches in today’s outing before leaving with what the White Sox announced as right shoulder soreness.  More will be known once Soroka undergoes testing, though shoulder inflammation brought an early end to both his 2022 and 2023 seasons, and he had other shoulder issues in his first two Major League seasons in 2018-19.  Beyond these shoulder problems, Soroka missed almost the entirety of the 2020-22 seasons due to a pair of torn Achilles tendons, but he returned to the Show to pitch 32 1/3 innings of 6.40 ERA ball with the Braves last year.

Atlanta then shipped Soroka and four other players to Chicago in the Aaron Bummer trade last November, and Soroka’s first season with the Sox has been a struggle, as he has a 5.25 ERA over 72 innings and he lost his rotation job in May.  Soroka’s 3.49 ERA as a reliever is a big step up from his 6.39 ERA as a starter, though this latest shoulder injury could bring another unwelcome wrinkle to his career.  It could also impact Chicago’s trade deadline plans, as an impending free agent like Soroka is an obvious trade candidate, and a healthy multi-inning reliever would appeal to several teams.

More from around the American League as we head into the All-Star break…

  • The Royals started their deadline moves with a bang on Saturday, acquiring Hunter Harvey from the Nationals for third base prospect Cayden Wallace and Kansas City’s Competitive Balance Round A pick in this year’s draft.  (Washington used the 39th overall pick on Cal catcher Caleb Lomavita.)  “What we came to realize is if you’re going to acquire a quality relief pitcher with years of control, it’s not going to be a comfortable trade to make.  You’re going to have to give up something to get something,” Royals general manager J.J. Picollo told MLB.com’s Anne Rogers and other reporters.  K.C. was known to be looking for bullpen help, and Harvey brings “great depth” to the relief corps, though Picollo said the team was “happy with” James McArthur’s work as closer.  “The depth was the focus for us and having more options at the back end of the game,” Picollo said.
  • Astros GM Dana Brown provided an update on Lance McCullers Jr. during a pregame radio appearance today (hat tip to Chandler Rome of The Athletic).  McCullers’ rehab from flexor surgery was halted earlier this week due to some soreness in his right arm, and Brown said “we just have to let time heal and we can’t push him.”  A return by September to work as a reliever is a possibility, Brown said, which is itself notable since McCullers has started 127 of his 130 career big league games.  A variety of injuries have cost McCullers the entirety of both the 2019 and 2023 seasons, and limited him to 265 innings over the 2020-22 campaigns.  The exact nature of McCullers’ latest issue isn’t known, but Brown somewhat ominously said that the righty had gotten “his second opinion” about the setback.
  • The Blue Jays were known to be pushing to sign Joc Pederson last winter, before Pederson landed with the Diamondbacks on a one-year deal worth $12.5MM in guaranteed money.  Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith recently spoke with Pederson about his offseason talks with Toronto, and Pederson said he had a FaceTime conversation with GM Ross Atkins and manager John Schneider that seemed to go well, though negotiations didn’t progress much further.  “They just I guess didn’t want me as bad as some other teams and weren’t able to really put together an offer when it was time for me to make a decision….From the conversations we had on the phone and how interested they were in adding a left-handed bat, their actions didn’t match their words, I guess you could say,” Pederson said.  “They said everything went really well and then didn’t want to offer what other teams did.”  The veteran slugger didn’t have any displeasure with how things worked out, and even left the door open to potentially play for the Jays in the future.  Pederson is having an excellent season as a righty-mashing DH in Arizona, hitting .273/.374/.498 with 13 homers over 277 plate appearances with the D’Backs.

Royals Designate Joe Barlow For Assignment

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The Royals announced their moves for today’s roster expansion, including the previously-reported selection of utility player Nick Loftin. They also recalled right-hander James McArthur and outfielder Edward Olivares, with right-hander Brady Singer going on the paternity list. To open a spot on the 40-man for Loftin, right-hander Joe Barlow was designated for assignment.

Barlow, 27, was claimed off waivers from the Rangers less than a month ago and was immediately optioned to Triple-A Omaha. He’s tossed 12 1/2 innings for the Storm Chasers since then but allowed 13 earned runs in that time, which will seemingly prompt the Royals to quickly move on.

His major league career began with a strong 1.55 ERA in 2021, though that was at least partially fuelled by a tiny .143 batting average on balls in play. His ERA jumped to 3.86 last year and 4.66 this year, as his strikeout rate also dropped year over year from 24.3% to 19.2% to 13.6%.

The Royals will now put Barlow back on waivers in the coming days. His results haven’t been great lately, but he’s not too far removed from having the closer’s role in Texas. He racked up 13 saves for the Rangers last year and 11 the year before. He still has two more option seasons after this one and has yet to reach arbitration. It’s possible he could interest clubs around the league who have a roster spot available and an idea of how to get him back on track.

Royals Designate Franmil Reyes For Assignment

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The Royals have acquired righty James McArthur from the Phillies in exchange for minor league outfielder Junior Marin, per a team announcement. Outfielder/DH Franmil Reyes was designated for assignment in a corresponding move. McArthur, who was designated for assignment by the Phils a few days back, will be assigned to Triple-A Omaha.

Kansas City signed Reyes, 27, to a minor league deal back in February, hoping that the 6’5″ slugger could recapture some of the form he’d showed with San Diego and Cleveland in years past. Reyes has a pair of 30-homer campaigns under his belt, including a 37-homer effort back in 2019. Overall, from 2018-21, he posted a combined .260/.325/.503 with 92 home runs in 1540 plate appearances. Strikeouts were an issue, as he fanned in 29.5% of his trips to the plate during that stretch, but Reyes offset that issue with his prodigious power and a respectable nine percent walk rate.

Things went south in a hurry in 2022, however, and they’ve gone from bad to worse in 2023. Reyes batted just .213/.254/.350 with a mammoth 37.1% strikeout rate in 280 plate appearances with the Guardians last year before being placed on waivers and claimed by the Cubs. A .234/.301/.389 showing down the stretch in Chicago resulted in an outright off the 40-man roster and minor league free agency, which eventually brought Reyes to Kansas City.

Though Reyes slugged a pair of early homers and had a brief hot streak in mid-April, he was optioned to Triple-A after going hitless and failing to reach base in 20 consecutive plate appearances. That swoon dropped him to a .186/.231/.288 batting line and sent his strikeout rate soaring to 36.9%. In four Triple-A games, he’s gone 3-for-15 with a homer, a walk and seven strikeouts (18 total plate appearances).

The Royals will have a week to trade Reyes, place him on outright waivers, or release him. His minor league contract came with a $2MM base salary, which makes it all the likelier that he’d pass through outright waivers unclaimed if the team goes that route.

In place of Reyes, the Royals will hope to unlock something in the 26-year-old McArthur — a towering 6’7″, 230-pound righty who has yet to make his big league debut. McArthur has opened the 2023 season with a rough patch in Triple-A Lehigh Valley, yielding 13 runs on 20 hits, seven walks and a pair of hit batters against 15 strikeouts in 16 innings of work. That’s his first taste of Triple-A after spending the two prior seasons in Double-A Reading, where he combined for a 4.73 ERA with a 24.7% strikeout rate against an 8.4% walk rate in 131 innings.

McArthur has worked primarily as a starter in the minors (including this year in Triple-A), though FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen wrote in his April overview of the Phillies’ system that McArthur was sitting 94-96 mph during short relief stints in spring training. Pitchers this tall can often have difficulty repeating their mechanics and thus be pushed to the bullpen, and it’s possible that’s where McArthur will ultimately land.

The Royals have Major League Baseball’s third-worst rotation ERA and fourth-worst bullpen ERA, so it’s hardly a surprise to see them adding nearly MLB-ready depth. McArthur doesn’t possess a huge ceiling, but he’s not far off from being ready for a Major League look, and Kansas City needs all the arms it can get at this point.

In exchange for some near-MLB pitching help, the Royals will part ways with a teenage outfield prospect who is likely years from being anywhere close to a consideration at the big league level. Marin turned 19 in mid-March and hasn’t yet advanced beyond Rookie ball. He’s already listed at 6’2″ and 240 pounds and has played right field near exclusively, with only a two-game cameo in left otherwise. Marin is a .328/.425/.554 hitter in 214 professional plate appearances but also struck out 31 times in 103 plate appearances with Kansas City’s affiliate in the Arizona Complex League last year. There’s some obvious power in his bat, but he wasn’t ranked among the best prospects in a sub-par Royals farm system and will now be a years-long development project for the Phillies.

Phillies Select Jeff Hoffman, Designate James McArthur

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The Phillies announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Jeff Hoffman. To open a spot on the active roster, fellow right-hander Yunior Marté was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. To create room on the 40-man roster, righty James McArthur was designated for assignment. The club also announced that righty Nick Nelson, who was on the injured list with a hamstring strain, was reinstated from the IL and optioned to Double-A Reading.

It was reported earlier today that Hoffman had an opt-out in his minor league deal, which he had triggered on Monday. The club then had 48 hours to add him to the big league roster or release. More than 48 hours have elapsed since then, but it seems the two sides worked something out to get Hoffman his roster spot today.

The 30-year-old Hoffman signed a minor league deal with the Twins in the offseason but he had opt-outs in that deal, the first of which was at the end of March. He didn’t make the club out of camp and was granted his release, signing another minor league contract, but this time with the Phillies. The latter deal came with a $1.3MM base salary and opt-outs on May 1 and July 1.

The righty reported to Lehigh Valley and made nine appearances. His ERA of 7.00 in that time certainly isn’t pretty, nor is his 17.9% walk rate. However, he struck out 41% of batters faced and also had an unfortunate strand rate of 37.7%, leading to a much more palatable FIP of 3.71. Matt Gelb of The Athletic had reported earlier that Hoffman has been touching 99 mph in that short stint.

In a sense, that mixed bag is a sort of microcosm of Hoffman’s career. He’s long tantalized clubs with his power arm, getting selected ninth overall by the Blue Jays back in 2014. He’s since bounced around to the Rockies and Reds, logging 348 1/3 innings with a 5.68 ERA while walking 11.1% of batters faced. Last year was a bit more encouraging as he pitched for the Reds exclusively as a reliever, apart from one outing as an opener. He finished the year with a 3.83 ERA in 44 2/3 innings, striking out 22.8% of batters faced but with a high walk rate of 11.7%.

The Phils will give him a shot to see if he can harness his stuff at the big league level this year. If he’s able to succeed and hang onto his roster spot, they would have the ability to retain him via arbitration for another season as well. Hoffman currently has four years and 105 days of service time, meaning he would be between five and six years if he stayed up the rest of the way. But if the Phils want to remove him from the roster at any point, Hoffman is out of options and would have to be designated for assignment.

In order to prevent Hoffman from returning to the open market, the Phils have removed McArthur from their roster. A 12th round pick of the Phils in 2018, he was added to the 40-man roster in November of 2021 to prevent him from being selected in that year’s Rule 5 draft. At that time, he had just finished a season in which he tossed 78 1/3 innings between High-A and Double-A with a 4.25 ERA. Unfortunately, he’s hit a few speed bumps since then, making just 13 starts last year before suffering a stress reaction in his throwing elbow that prevented him from pitching after June. He reached Triple-A for the first time this year but has a 7.31 ERA through 16 innings.

The Phils will now have a week to trade McArthur or pass him through waivers. His rough showing this year notwithstanding, he’s a starter that can be optioned to the minors. Given that multiple clubs around the league are dealing with significant rotation injuries, it’s possible one of them could be interested in picking him up.

The Phillies’ Fifth Starter Possibilities

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The Phillies had a bit of shuffling in the middle of their rotation this offseason. Each of Zach Eflin, Noah Syndergaard and Kyle Gibson went elsewhere in free agency. Philadelphia partially backfilled the starting staff by bringing Taijuan Walker aboard, but they focused the rest of their offseason attention on installing Trea Turner atop the lineup and stockpiling bullpen help.

Philadelphia has one of baseball’s best one-two punch atop the rotation in Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler. Walker steps into the third or fourth role, pairing with southpaw Ranger Suárez in the middle. Losing Eflin and Gibson thins out the depth at the back end, leaving the Phils to rely on someone without much starting experience at the big league level in the #5 role.

Turning to those possibilities:

Some MLB Rotation Work

Bailey Falter

Falter, a 25-year-old lefty, made 16 starts out of 20 outings for the Phils last year. That came on the heels of a rookie campaign in which he was used almost exclusively out of the bullpen and posted a 5.61 ERA. Falter had a better run prevention mark last season, allowing just 3.86 earned runs per nine innings. Falter struck out a roughly average 21.2% of opponents and kept his walks to a sparkling 4.9% clip last season. His ground-ball percentage dropped from 36.1% as a rookie to 31.7%, though, and he surrendered home runs at a higher than average rate (1.71 per nine innings).

The former fifth-round pick has shown excellent control throughout his time in the minor leagues. He missed bats on a decent 11% of his MLB offerings last season. His strikeout and walk profile fits fine at the back of a contending rotation, though his fly-ball oriented approach could give him trouble in a very hitter-friendly home park. Falter doesn’t throw hard and gives up a fair amount of hard contact. That’s been a particular issue with right-handed hitters, who have a .266/.313/.486 line against him in his MLB career.

Cristopher Sánchez

Sánchez, 26, only has four big league starts to his name. He’s come out of the bullpen 18 times at the MLB level and has logged 52 2/3 innings over the last two seasons. He owns a 5.47 ERA with worse than average strikeout and walk marks (20.3% and 10.2%, respectively). On the plus side, he’s racked up grounders on a massive 56.4% of batted balls.

The 6’1″ hurler has spent the bulk of the last two years starting games for Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He struggled with walks en route to a 4.68 ERA there in 2021 but had a much more productive showing last season. Over 57 1/3 innings spanning 15 appearances, the Dominican-born southpaw posted a 3.14 ERA with a 24.4% strikeout percentage, 8.4% walk rate and eye-opening 62% grounder percentage. While Sánchez hasn’t had much MLB success to date, he’s in the back of the rotation and/or long relief mix thanks to his quality Triple-A showing.

Top Prospects

Andrew Painter

Arguably the top pitching prospect in the game, Painter ranks among the sport’s top 15 minor league talents at Baseball America, ESPN and The Athletic. Armed with an upper-90s fastball, the 6’7″ righty also draws praise from evaluators for a pair of impressive breaking pitches in his slider and curveball. His changeup is viewed as a little behind the rest of his power arsenal but a promising fourth pitch in its own right.

The 13th overall pick in the 2021 draft out of a Florida high school, he traversed three minor league levels last season. In a year split between Low-A, High-A and Double-A, he threw 103 2/3 innings of 1.56 ERA ball, striking out a laughable 38.7% of opponents with just a 6.2% walk rate.

It’s hard to draw up a better first full pro season. Still, Painter won’t turn 20 until April, and he has just five late-season starts in Double-A and zero experience at the top minor league level. Carrying him on the MLB roster from day one would be a risk, though president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has said on a few occasions this offseason that it’s not out of the question (link via Andy Jasner of Sports Illustrated).

Mick Abel

Abel was Philadelphia’s first-round selection the year before Painter. Also a high school righty, he’s likewise developed into one of the sport’s more talented young arms. Abel split last season between High-A and Double-A, also making just five starts at the latter level. He combined for a 3.90 ERA across 108 1/3 frames with a 27.6% strikeout rate but a 10.6% walk percentage. He’s a consensus top-100 talent but below Painter in the prospect hierarchy, with a little less velocity and a greater need to refine his control. Abel’s a very good prospect and could potentially put himself in the MLB mix midseason, but right now it doesn’t seem like he’ll get immediate consideration for an Opening Day rotation role. Of course, a standout spring performance could potentially change that.

Griff McGarry

McGarry, a Virginia product, was a fifth-round draftee in 2021. As a college player, he’s older than Painter and Abel. He spent most of the 2022 season as a starter at High-A and Double-A as well but got eight late-season relief outings at Lehigh Valley. McGarry combined for 87 1/3 innings of 3.71 ERA ball in his first full professional season. He punched out an enormous 35.7% of opponents but walked batters at a 14.6% clip. McGarry has had high-octane stuff but inconsistent control dating back to his time in college. He’s a well-regarded prospect in his own right and looks like a great find for the Phils in the fifth round, though he’d need a dramatic improvement in his strike-throwing to factor into the MLB rotation this year. A midseason bullpen debut might be more likely.

Minor League Depth

Michael Plassmeyer

Acquired in a minor league trade that sent catcher Austin Wynns to the Giants last summer, Plassmeyer cracked the 40-man roster in August. He’d been hit hard in Triple-A with San Francisco but seemed to turn the corner in the Philadelphia organization. Over 16 starts for Lehigh Valley, the former fourth-round draftee posted a 2.41 ERA across 82 innings. He had some strand rate and BABIP help but also struck out 24.8% of opponents against a 7% walk rate. That’s enough to get Plassmeyer on the MLB radar, but he’d struggled significantly with walks and home runs on the road to a 7.38 ERA over 11 appearances with the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate prior to the trade.

James McArthur

McArthur made 13 starts for Double-A Reading last season before suffering a stress reaction in his throwing elbow. He struck out a quarter of opponents at that level but issued walks at a higher than average 10% clip. Over 57 innings, he managed a 5.05 ERA in a hitter-friendly home environment. McArthur’s 26 and has still yet to reach Triple-A. That he’s still holding a 40-man roster spot suggests the Phils still like his upside, though he’d presumably need to earn an MLB look with a strong showing in Lehigh Valley and might fit better in the bullpen regardless.

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The Phillies figure to bring a few more arms to camp as non-roster Spring Training invitees. Philadelphia added Kyle Hart on a minor league deal this afternoon, while Hans Crouse remains in the organization after clearing outright waivers last November. It’s possible the front office looks for another starter with some MLB experience who’s willing to accept an NRI.

Unless the Phils surprisingly add Michael Wacha or pivot to the trade market, however, it’s unlikely anyone they bring in at this point would get an immediate MLB rotation job. The organization looks prepared to put a lot of faith in their highly-touted prospects, especially Painter. Whether that’ll be the case from day one is to be determined, with Falter and Sánchez in position to vie for key roles if the Phils determine more minor league time is necessary for their vaunted young arms.

Phillies Select Darick Hall

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2:10pm: Philadelphia officially confirmed Hall’s promotion. Infielder Johan Camargo has been placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to June 26, with a right knee strain. To create a 40-man roster spot, the Phils recalled minor league righty James McArthur from Double-A Reading and placed him on the MLB 60-day injured list. McArthur, who’s dealing with a stress reaction in his throwing elbow, will be paid at the prorated amount of the $700K league minimum salary and collect big league service time while on the IL.

10:54am: The Phillies are planning to select the contract of first baseman Darick Hall from Triple-A Lehigh Valley, reports Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia. They’ll need to open a spot on the 40-man roster.

It’ll be the big league debut for Hall, a 14th-round selection of the Phillies back in 2016. The 26-year-old has earned his ticket to the big leagues this season, hitting at a .269/.346/.548 clip with 20 home runs, 18 doubles, five steals (in six tries), a 9.5% walk rate and a 20% strikeout rate through his first 315 plate appearances of the season. Hall’s left-handed bat won’t make up for the loss of Harper, of course, but he’ll give interim skipper Rob Thomson another option with some power to mix-and-match while the reigning MVP is sidelined.

With Harper on the shelf, the Phillies are looking at several platoon options around the diamond, but their current slate of left-handed hitters hasn’t performed well — even against righties. Mickey Moniak is hitting .167/.259/.167 in 27 plate appearances, while Odubel Herrera is batting just .218/.248/.412 against right-handers. Hall, meanwhile, has struggled against lefties in Triple-A but absolutely torched right-handed opponents to the tune of a .312/.391/.656 batting line. Seventeen of his 20 long balls have come against righties, as have a dozen of his 18 doubles.

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