Former Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Jerad Eickhoff made his return to affiliated baseball this week after a stint in the independent leagues to begin the 2023 season.
Eickhoff — once one of the key prospects that came to the Phillies organization from the Rangers in a 2015 blockbuster trade that sent 2008 World Series MVP Cole Hamels to Texas — was signed by the Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday. He reported to Triple-A Columbus and made his debut on Friday, allowing nine runs over five innings in a rocky first start.
Prior to his minor-league deal with the Guardians, Eickhoff made nine starts for the Lexington Counter Clocks of the Atlantic League. The 32-year-old posted a 6.16 ERA across 49 2/3 innings, a far cry from the success he found early on in his major-league career.
Eickhoff made his debut for the Phillies late in the 2015 season and was remarkably effective in his first two years in the big leagues. In 2015 and 2016, the right-hander made 41 starts for Philadelphia and pitched to a 3.44 ERA in 248 1/3 innings. Eickhoff appeared to be a pitcher the Phillies could count on for the future during their rebuild, but injuries soon threw his career off course.
Dealing with ailments such as numbness in his fingers and a biceps injury, he didn’t pitch a full season again for the Phillies before his tenure with the team ended in 2019. Eickhoff didn’t pitch in the majors in 2020, but pitched in five games for the New York Mets in 2021 and made one start for the Pittsburgh Pirates last year.
At this point in his career, it seems unlikely that Eickhoff will be able to stick in the big leagues the way he did early on in Philadelphia. But it still remains possible that he can make his way back to the majors for at least another stretch if he pitches well enough, and his return to affiliated ball will provide Eickhoff with more of an opportunity for that to happen.
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