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Tyler Phillips

Marlins Acquire Tyler Phillips

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1:42pm: The Phillies announced that Phillips was traded to the Marlins for cash.

11:31am: The Marlins are set to acquire righty Tyler Phillips from the division-rival Phillies, reports Robert Murray of Fansided. Philadelphia designated Phillips for assignment on Sunday. It’s not clear if Miami has agreed to a small trade or is simply claiming the right-hander off waivers, but he’ll join the Marlins’ big league roster either way, as he’s out of minor league options.

Phillips, 27, made his MLB debut with the Phillies last year, appearing in eight games (seven starts) and logging a 6.87 ERA in 36 2/3 innings. He averaged 93.7 mph on his sinker, fanned 17.5% of his opponents, issued walks at a minuscule 4.4% clip and kept a solid 42.3% of his batted balls on the ground. He’s whiffed 14 of the 50 hitters he’s faced this spring (28%) and notched a massive 63% ground-ball rate, but he’s also been tagged for nine runs and walked seven batters in 10 2/3 innings.

Though Phillips had a tough first look in the majors and a shaky 5.08 ERA in Triple-A, he’ll come to the Marlins having logged 122 2/3 minor league innings in 2023 and 155 1/3 innings between Triple-A and the big leagues last year. For a Marlins club that has seen a large swath of injuries this spring, he’ll add some needed rotation depth and a potential long man in the bullpen.

Miami lost Braxton Garrett to UCL surgery early in camp. Ryan Weathers went down with a forearm strain just last week. Edward Cabrera struggled in camp while pitching through a series of blisters on his right hand. Ballyhooed prospect Eury Perez is still on the mend from last April’s Tommy John surgery.

At present, the Marlins project to open with a rotation including Sandy Alcantara, Cal Quantrill, Max Meyer, Connor Gillispie and Valente Bellozo. The first three are locked into place, but neither Gillispie nor Bellozo has a long big league track record or Meyer’s prospect status. Phillips provides length in the ’pen and a possible alternative in the event that the Fish opt to send Gillispie or Bellozo to Triple-A Jacksonville for further minor league work.

Royals Outright Nick Pratto, Nelson Velazquez; Phillies Claim Carlos Hernandez

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The Royals have cleared three spots on their 40-man roster, according to a report from Anne Rogers of MLB.com. The club placed first baseman Nick Pratto, outfielder Nelson Velazquez, and right-hander Carlos Hernandez on waivers. Hernandez was claimed by the Phillies, while both Pratto and Velazquez cleared waivers and have been outrighted to Triple-A. The Phillies subsequently announced they’ve designated right-hander Tyler Phillips for assignment to make room for Hernandez on the roster.

Hernandez, 28, is a hard-throwing righty who signed with the Royals out of Venezuela and made his pro debut back in 2017. He climbed the minor league ladder before eventually making it to the majors during the 2020 campaign, although his five-appearance cup of coffee was one to forget with a 4.91 ERA and 6.40 FIP in 14 2/3 innings of work. Nonetheless, he served in a swing role for Kansas City the following year and found success in that role, pitching to a 3.68 ERA and 4.08 FIP across 85 2/3 innings of work. That seemed to hint at a fairly bright future in store for the right-hander, but things didn’t work out that way as Hernandez struggled badly over the next two years with a 6.21 ERA in 126 innings of work as he struck out just 19.8% of opponents while walking them at a hefty 11% clip.

Those struggles were enough to spur a full-time move to the bullpen for Hernandez in 2024, and the results were a clear improvement. On the surface, his numbers looked excellent as he pitched to a 3.30 ERA with a 3.50 FIP in 30 innings of work. With that being said, it can’t be ignored that Hernandez also allowed three unearned runs, struck out just 20.9% of his opponents, and struggled badly at Triple-A when not in the majors with a 5.40 ERA in 26 2/3 innings of work. Most concerning was his walk rate, which ballooned to a career-high 12.4% last year. Those issues left Hernandez without a guaranteed roster spot headed into Spring Training, and with no minor league options left the Royals had no choice but to place him on waivers when his 6.97 ERA in 10 1/3 spring innings did not justify a spot in the club’s bullpen.

That gave the Phillies the opportunity to swoop in an add a high-velocity arm off waivers, though they had to part ways with Phillips in order to do so. The 27-year-old made his big league debut with Philadelphia last season and struggled to a 6.87 ERA in 36 2/3 innings of work split between seven starts and one relief outing. The Phillies will have one week to either trade Phillips or attempt to pass him through waivers. If he goes unclaimed, the club can outright him to the minors as a non-roster depth option. Meanwhile, Hernandez figures to enter the club’s bullpen as a possible long relief option alongside Joe Ross and Taijuan Walker, though the latter could be ticketed for a return to the rotation if Ranger Suarez opens the season on the injured list.

As for Velazquez and Pratto, both are young hitters who have shown promise at points in their careers but have struggled to find consistency at the big league level. Velazquez was acquired from the Cubs at the 2023 trade deadline in exchange for right-hander Jose Cuas and impressed in 40 games down the stretch with the club before stumbling to a lackluster .200/.274/.366 slash line in 64 games last year. Pratto, meanwhile, was the club’s first-round pick in 2017 and once a consensus top-100 prospect, but he’s failed to hit in the majors so far with just a .216/.295/.364 slash line across 144 games at the big league level. Both players will now serve as non-roster depth for the club this year and try to play their way into another big league opportunity at Triple-A.

Phillies Designate Michael Rucker For Assignment

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The Phillies announced Wednesday that right-hander Michael Rucker has been designated for assignment. His spot on the 40-man roster will go to fellow righty Nick Nelson, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Philadelphia also optioned righty Tyler Phillips to Lehigh Valley to open a spot on the active roster for Nelson.

Rucker, 30, was acquired in a cash deal with the Cubs back in February after he’d been designated for assignment in Chicago. He never got into a game with the Phillies in the majors, instead spending most of the season on the 60-day injured list owing to an arterial vasospasm in his right hand. The Phils reinstated and optioned him prior to the trade deadline. He’s pitched 26 minor league innings this season and been tagged for a 6.58 ERA, with the bulk of the damage coming in Triple-A.

Grim as Rucker’s run-prevention has been, his 26.7% strikeout rate and 8.6% walk rate are both fine marks (particularly the former). He’s also kept the ball on the ground at a strong 45.2% clip. Rucker, however, has been plagued by an astronomical .479 average on balls in play during his time with the IronPigs.

As recently as 2022, Rucker was a solid member of the Cubs’ bullpen. He pitched a career-high 54 2/3 innings and logged a 3.95 ERA with a 21.8% strikeout rate and 8.7% walk rate in that time. His followup effort in 2023 resulted in a more troubling 4.91 ERA in 40 2/3 frames, but his strikeout and walk numbers remained generally serviceable and his grounder rate spiked to a strong 51.4%. Overall, Rucker carries a 4.96 ERA in 123 1/3 innings as a major leaguer.

Rucker will now head to waivers, where another club could have interest in his solid Triple-A track record. If not, he’ll be outrighted off the 40-man roster and stick with the Phillies as a depth piece. Rucker lacks the three years of service or prior outright assignment to elect free agency.

The 26-year-old Phillips has had one of the strangest debut campaigns in recent memory. The unheralded righty dominated through his first four big league outings, culminating a shutout of the AL Central-leading Guardians on July 27. He didn’t last two innings in his next start, yielding eight runs to a light-hitting Mariners offense, and has yet to recover. His struggles reached a tipping point when he allowed six runs in the first inning versus the Blue Jays in yesterday’s start. Overalll, since his shutout, Phillips has yielded 23 runs in just 11 2/3 innings. His ERA has skyrocketed from 1.80 to 6.87.

Taking Phillips’ spot on the roster will be Nelson, who’s spent the past three seasons with the Phils. He only pitched in 3 1/3 innings this season and has struggled to produce in Triple-A, where he’s logged a 6.30 ERA on the season. It could be a quick stay on the 40-man roster in Nelson’s return, but he’s stretched out for multiple innings and could give the Phillies four or even five innings of work on the heels of yesterday’s marathon game for the bullpen, if needed. Nelson tossed four innings in a Triple-A appearance as recently as Aug. 24. And, while he’s struggled on the season overall, Nelson has been throwing better of late; he’s yielded only one run in his past 9 1/3 innings pitched in Triple-A.

Phillies Move Taijuan Walker To Bullpen

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The Phillies are moving right-hander Taijuan Walker to the bullpen. Manager Rob Thomson informed reporters today, including Matt Gelb of The Athletic, who suggests that Tyler Phillips is likely to take the open rotation slot.

Going into the 2023 season, the Phils signed Walker to a four-year, $72MM deal. His first season in Philadelphia was serviceable enough, as he posted a 4.38 earned run average while taking the ball 31 times. The team didn’t give him a postseason start, however, going with a rotation of Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola and Ranger Suárez, while Cristopher Sánchez made one start as well.

2024 has been far more trying. Walker began the season on the injured list due to right shoulder inflammation. He was reinstated from the IL in late April but went back on the shelf just under two months later due to right index finger inflammation. That second trip to the shelf lasted from late June to the middle of August.

Around those IL stints, he has made 14 starts with a 6.50 ERA. His 16.8% strikeout rate is a career low, apart from 2018 when he made just three starts for the Diamondbacks prior to undergoing Tommy John surgery. His four-seam fastball is averaging 91.5 miles per hour this year, whereas he has been in the 93-95 range for much of his career. He has allowed six earned runs in each of his past two starts.

In the short term, Walker’s poor performance isn’t going to sink the club. Their 78-55 record is one of the best in the majors. They have a five-game lead over Atlanta in the East and would almost certainly have a Wild Card spot even if that club runs them down.

Each of Wheeler, Nola, Suárez and Sánchez are having good seasons, giving the club a strong front four that should carry them through the end of the season and into the playoffs, as long as everyone is healthy. The extra off-days in the postseason generally allow club to get by with three or four starters, rather than five or six in the regular season.

Rosters expand from 26 to 28 on September 1, with clubs able to go from 13 pitchers to 14 as the maximum allowed. Having Walker as an expensive long reliever in the bullpen shouldn’t be too cumbersome from a roster construction point of view.

The long-term question is a bit more complicated. Walker’s deal pays him even salaries of $18MM in each year of his deal, meaning there will still be two years and $36MM remaining as of this winter. As Gelb highlights, teams rarely give up on players with that much money still to be paid out, usually hoping that some kind of bounceback will come to pass. He does mention a few exceptions, listing Pablo Sandoval as the player released with the most money still owed: $48.3MM. A few other listed examples include Robinson Canó ($37.6MM), José Abreu ($35MM) and Madison Bumgarner ($34MM).

Walker will be in that range but Gelb also adds that the club still feels there’s a path for getting him on track next year, which will be his age-32 campaign. “The program that he was on to try and gain velocity, we didn’t have enough time,” Thomson said. “Like, that program’s a long program, and we sort of cut the program off early. I think if he has a full offseason of that program, we have a better chance of seeing some improvement.”

Gelb adds that the club had Walker on a weighted ball program while he was out with the aforementioned finger injury. As mentioned earlier, his velocity has been down this year. Perhaps he’s never been 100% healthy this year and has a path to get back on track in future seasons.

That could lead the Phillies to being patient to see how things play out next year, but it’s possible the rotation will get more crowded over time. Wheeler, Nola and Sánchez are all signed through at least 2027, while Suárez still has one more arbitration season left, so he should be around through 2025. Prospect Andrew Painter could be more an option by then. He almost cracked the club’s rotation in 2023 but injuries put a stop to that and he eventually underwent Tommy John surgery last summer.

Gelb relays that Painter recently had a setback in his recovery but the club characterizes it as normal soreness for this part of the rehab process. He was also slowed by an illness recently. He will likely have workload restrictions in 2025 since he only threw 103 2/3 innings in 2022, followed by two lost seasons. Nonetheless, he is still ranked as one of the top pitching prospects in the sport and could be pushing for a big league debut next year.

Ideally, Walker will simply return to form and make this a non-issue. After returning from his aforementioned Tommy John surgery, he posted a 3.80 ERA over the 2020-22 seasons, which is what prompted the Phils to bring him aboard. Even if Painter gets in good form next year, there’s no guarantees that the other four will be healthy, so Walker could certainly be needed. Suárez could also depart in free agency prior to 2026, the final year of Walker’s deal. Though if the struggles from Walker continue, the temptation to release him may grow, especially as the money still owed to him shrinks over time.

For now, the club will turn the ball over to Phillips. He has debuted this year and thrown 36 innings with a 5.50 ERA. Gelb also suggests that Kolby Allard could be a candidate to take a spot. However, the lefty was just optioned on August 26 and needs to wait 15 days from that date before being recalled, unless he’s replacing someone going on the injured list. Allard has a 3.50 ERA in his 18 innings this year. He has a 5.92 ERA in his big league career and a 5.45 ERA in Triple-A this year.

Phillies Select Tyler Gilbert

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The Phillies announced that they have selected the contract of left-hander Tyler Gilbert from Triple-A Lehigh Valley.  In corresponding moves, right-hander Tyler Phillips was optioned to Triple-A, and right-hander Spencer Turnbull was shifted from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL.

It’s something of a homecoming for Gilbert, who was a sixth-round pick for the Phillies in the 2015 draft.  He spent his first five pro seasons in the Phils organization before he was traded to the Dodgers for Kyle Garlick prior to the 2020 season, and Gilbert’s tenure in L.A. didn’t consist of even a single game due to the canceled 2020 minor league campaign.  The Diamondbacks then selected Gilbert in the 2020 Rule 5 Draft and he posted a 4.32 ERA across 91 2/3 MLB innings for Arizona from 2021-23, highlighted by a no-hitter in his first Major League start on August 14, 2021.

Almost exactly three years after that history-making game, Gilbert finds himself going full circle, as he is now in line to finally suit up for the Phillies in a big league contest.  Gilbert signed a minor league deal with Cincinnati during the offseason and started the year with the Reds’ Triple-A affiliate before the Phillies acquired him in a cash deal in May.  The southpaw has been nothing short of outstanding since the trade, as Gilbert has a 2.06 ERA, 33.3% strikeout rate, 4.2% walk rate, and a 58.1% grounder rate over 35 relief innings in Lehigh Valley.

This is the first time Gilbert has been used exclusively as a reliever in his career, and it certainly appears to have unlocked something in the 30-year-old.  If Gilbert can deliver anything remotely close to his Triple-A numbers at the MLB level, it would be an enormous help to a Philadelphia bullpen that has posted the third-worst ERA (5.32) in baseball since the All-Star break.  Phils manager Rob Thomson Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer and other reporters that Gilbert will be deployed as a multi-inning reliever.

Turnbull hasn’t pitched since he suffered a right lat strain on June 26, and the June 27 placement date of his 15-day IL stint still stands as the start date of his new 60-day window.  Turnbull had his planned return to mound work last week delayed by some soreness, so given that he’ll still need a good deal of ramp-up time before he’s ready to rejoin the Phillies, his absence is almost sure to extend beyond the 60-day minimum.

Latest On Phillies’ Rotation

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The Phillies are making an adjustment to their rotation. Rookie right-hander Tyler Phillips will make his first big league start on Saturday against the A’s, tweets Matt Gelb of the Athletic. Fellow rookie Michael Mercado is set to work from the bullpen.

Mercado, 25, just stepped into the starting five in late June. He threw five innings of one-run ball against the Cubs in his first MLB start. The Braves teed off on Mercado on Saturday, though, tagging him for five runs on a trio of homers before he could escape the second inning. While one poor start won’t change the organization’s view on Mercado, most prospect evaluators suggest his fastball-curveball arsenal is better suited for relief work.

A former second-round pick of the Rays, Mercado joined the Phils in a minor trade at the beginning of last offseason. He has started 10 of 14 appearances with Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Mercado has a stellar 1.71 earned run average at the top minor league level. However, he has walked more than 11% of batters faced while averaging fewer than four innings per appearance.

Phillips has had a more conventional starting role with Lehigh Valley. He has started all 15 Triple-A appearances and averaged slightly more than six innings per game. His 4.89 ERA is a lot more pedestrian than Mercado’s mark, although he has shown somewhat better control (9.4% walk rate). Mercado throws a bit harder than Phillips does and has demonstrated a lot more bat-missing ability in the minor leagues. Phillips, whom the team added to the 40-man roster last week, has a modest 19.8% strikeout rate for the IronPigs. To his credit, Phillips punched out seven hitters across four innings of relief behind Mercado against Atlanta in his big league debut.

The Phillies have built enough of a cushion that they shouldn’t be concerned about some short-term uncertainty in their starting five. They’re eight games clear of the Braves for the division lead and 4.5 games ahead of the Dodgers for the National League’s top seed. An excellent rotation has been a major reason. Philadelphia’s front four of Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Ranger Suárez and Cristopher Sánchez is arguably the best in MLB.

The fifth spot is the only question mark. Taijuan Walker allowed a 5.60 ERA over 10 starts before inflammation in his index finger sent him to the injured list a few weeks ago. Spencer Turnbull managed great results as a sixth starter, but he sustained a lat strain that’ll knock him out into August.

Barring injury, the Phils look like the rare contender that doesn’t need to urgently pursue rotation help over the next three weeks. Wheeler’s status is worth monitoring after the Phils lifted him at 76 pitches during tonight’s start. The team announced that the star righty was battling lower back tightness. After the game, skipper Rob Thomson called it a precautionary measure with the Phillies already holding an eight-run lead (X link via Alex Coffey of the Philadelphia Inquirer). Thomson suggested the team would evaluate Wheeler tomorrow but indicated the club expects he’ll be fine to make his next start.

Phillies Select Tyler Phillips

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The Phillies announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Tyler Phillips. Fellow righty Yunior Marté was optioned in a corresponding move. To open a spot on the 40-man, righty Luis Ortiz was transferred to the 60-day injured list.

Phillips, 26, has likely been selected to give the club some length out of the bullpen. He has made 15 starts in Triple-A this year, tossing 92 innings, allowing 4.89 earned runs per nine. His 19.8% strikeout rate is subpar but his 9.4% walk rate is fine and he’s been getting grounders at a strong 50.9% clip.

The Philly rotation took a couple of hits recently, with Taijuan Walker and Spencer Turnbull landing on the IL in fairly quick succession. They still have a strong front four consisting of Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Ranger Suárez and Cristopher Sánchez, but the fifth spot is a bit shakier. Michael Mercado is in that spot for now but he has just six innings of major league experience to this point.

Nola and Suárez are scheduled to go the next two days with Mercado on Sunday. If there’s any need for someone to eat innings, that could perhaps be Phillips, since he’s been stretched out for a starting role in the minors.

If that comes to pass, Phillips will be making his major league debut, though he’s been on a 40-man roster before. He was originally drafted by the Rangers and that club added him to their 40-man roster back in November 2019, to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. He had tossed 131 innings in the minors that year with a 3.71 ERA, getting heaps of ground balls.

The minors were canceled by the pandemic in 2020 and then Phillips struggled in 2021, going to the Phillies on a waiver claim. The Phils passed him through waivers shortly thereafter and the righty needed Tommy John surgery at the end of that season, missing all of 2022. Last year, he had a 4.92 ERA in 122 2/3 innings split between Double-A and Triple-A.

As for Ortiz, he started the year on the injured list due to a left ankle sprain. He started a rehab assignment but that was shut down and manager Rob Thomson said last week that the righty will be having Tommy John surgery on July 11, per Tim Kelly of Phillies Nation on X. He’ll miss the remainder of the season and a big portion of 2025 as well.

Phillies Designate Tyler Phillips For Assignment

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The Phillies announced they’ve designated minor league righty Tyler Phillips for assignment. The move clears space on the 40-man roster for utilityman Luke Williams, who has been activated from the COVID-19 injured list. Outfielder Mickey Moniak was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley to open active roster space for Williams.

Phillips joined the Philadelphia organization in July, when they added him via waiver claim from the Rangers. He’d spent his entire career up to that point with Texas, who drafted him in 2015. Phillips posted quality numbers throughout much of his low minors tenure, but he struggled a bit upon reaching Double-A two years ago and was knocked around in his first four Triple-A appearances this season.

The Phillies assigned Phillips to Double-A Reading after adding him, but he was tagged for nine runs (eight earned) in 11 1/3 frames of work in that hitter-friendly setting. 2021 has been a struggle for Phillips no matter where he’s pitched, as he’s managed just a 6.13 ERA over 39 2/3 total minor league frames. That has come with subpar strikeout and walk rates, as the 23-year-old has punched out 22.7% of batters faced while issuing walks at an elevated 12.7% clip.

Obviously, things haven’t gone as planned for Phillips this season. But he’s not far removed from being seen as a potential back-end starter by public prospect evaluators. Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs ranked him 29th in the Rangers’ system this May, projecting Phillips to overcome fringy raw stuff because of potential plus-plus command.

Indeed, Phillips had doled out free passes to only 4.6% of opponents in his career entering this season, making his sudden strike-throwing woes quite perplexing. It’s certainly not of the question he could again find that kind of feel for locating and reemerge as a decent prospect. The Phillies will place him on outright or release waivers in the coming days.

Phillies Claim Tyler Phillips, Place Adam Haseley On COVID List

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The Phillies have claimed right-hander Tyler Phillips off waivers from the Rangers.  Phillips was designated for assignment by Texas earlier this week.  In another move announced by the Phils, outfielder Adam Haseley was placed on Philadelphia’s COVID-related injury list.

A 16th-round pick for the Rangers back in 2015, Phillips is still only 23, but he hasn’t found much success pitching at either the Double-A or Triple-A levels.  Phillips has a 4.72 ERA over 108 2/3 frames at Double-A Frisco, comprised of two separate stints in Frisco sandwiched around the canceled 2020 minor league season.  Making the jump to Triple-A this season for the first time, Phillips has fared even worse, with a 9.90 ERA and more walks (12) than strikeouts (11) in his first 10 innings of work.

That small sample size was enough to make Phillips expendable in the Rangers’ eyes, though the Phillies will now see if a change of scenery can get him on track.  Phillips did show some potential as a starter in the lower minors, delivering some good groundball numbers and (his control problems this season notwithstanding) limiting walks.

Rangers Reinstate Sam Huff From 60-Day IL, Designate Tyler Phillips

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The Rangers have designated right-hander Tyler Phillips for assignment, the club announced.  The move opens up a 40-man roster spot for top prospect Sam Huff, who has been activated from the 60-day injured list and been optioned to Double-A Frisco.

Huff underwent knee surgery back in April, and it seems quite possible that without that injury, he might already be back in the majors.  Huff has yet to play at Triple-A ball and he has only 14 plate appearances at the Double-A level, but the Rangers thought enough of his performance at their alternate training site last season that they promoted Huff to the big leagues in September.  From there, Huff hit three home runs and posted a 1.136 OPS over 33 PA, providing a tantalizing glimpse into his potential as a slugging cornerstone of a future Rangers lineup.

It remains to be seen if Huff will get any time at catcher, as he has played exclusively as a first baseman this season.  It could be that Texas is just easing Huff back into things in the wake of his knee surgery, and he’ll eventually get some action behind the plate before the year is out.  Assuming Huff continues to rake at Double-A and then at Triple-A, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him receive another September call-up before the year is out, as the Rangers could then be eyeing him as a candidate for more regular big-league duty for 2022.

A 16th-round pick for Texas in the 2015 draft, Phillips posted solid numbers in the lower levels of the farm system but began to hit some struggles in Double-A, and his Triple-A debut this season has been even more problematic.  Phillips has a 9.90 ERA over 10 Triple-A frames, with more walks (12) than strikeouts (11).  These control issues are a troubling new development for Phillips, as limiting walks was a strength for the right-hander over his first five pro seasons.

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