The Philadelphia Phillies announced a series of roster moves Tuesday evening, including one that was certainly worth a double take.
First and foremost, the Phillies claimed RHP Kaleb Ort off of waivers from the Miami Marlins. The 32-year-old has a 6.27 ERA in 47 career MLB appearances for the Boston Red Sox, 45 of which have come out of the bullpen. His fastball has averaged 96.3 mph at the MLB level, and has a 2.98 ERA in 184 career minor league relief appearances, so the Phillies may believe there’s some untapped potential there.
Ort does have one remaining minor-league option, so he fits the recent theme of the Phillies acquiring pitchers who could make an impact at the MLB level in 2024, but are likely to open the campaign at Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
While Ort isn’t guaranteed a 26-man roster spot, the Phillies did need to add him to their 40-man roster. To do so, they designated infielder Diego Castillo for assignment. Castillo was claimed on waivers by the Phillies on Feb. 5, and has spent time in the Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Mets and New York Yankees organizations as well this offseason.
Elsewhere, both relief pitcher Andrew Bellatti and outfielder Simón Muzziotti cleared waivers and have been outrighted to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. It felt like there was a chance that both would be claimed when they were designated for assignment, particularly Bellatti, who posted a 3.31 ERA and 2.87 FIP across 59 games in 2022. Instead, both will be in MLB Spring Training as non-roster invitees, and potential candidates to be re-added to the 40-man roster for depth purposes down the line.
The most shocking of the series of moves announced by the Phillies today was that RHP David Buchanan has been signed to a minor-league deal, which will also include an invite to MLB Spring Training.
Now 34, Buchanan was a seventh-round pick in the 2010 MLB Draft by the Phillies. He went 8-17 with a 5.01 ERA and 4.68 FIP across 35 starts for miserable Phillies teams in 2014 and 2015. After a three-year stint that saw him post a 3.02 ERA for the Samsung Lions in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), Buchanan is looking to get back into the majors with nearly a decade after last pitching for the Phillies. It would be an incredible story if he does, but at a minimum, it will be something fun to watch in a camp without a ton of storylines.
One other note worth pointing out is that the Phillies have not yet announced the reported signing of RHP Spencer Turnbull. That doesn’t mean it’s not happening, just something to monitor.
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