The Philadelphia Phillies lost some depth to their organization.
Philadelphia DFA’d Bryse Wilson earlier this week, and he was placed on waivers. On June 24, the Chicago Cubs claimed the nine-year veteran pitcher amid their slew of injuries, according to Cubs reporter Meghan Montemurro.
“The Cubs have claimed RHP Bryse Wilson off waivers from the Phillies. RHP Christian Roa has been designated for assignment,” Montemurro wrote on BlueSky.
Wilson triggered his upward mobility clause earlier this month, which led to the Phillies selecting his contract on June 18. Yet, just four days later, he was DFA’d on June 22, and two days after that, he is no longer in the organization.
Wilson appeared in 1 game for the Phillies, pitching two scoreless innings, but it wasn’t enough to remain on the roster as Philadelphia opted to DFA him.
Wilson is 20-23 with a 4.80 ERA in 164 career MLB games over 463 innings, as he will add some much-needed depth to the Cubs’ pitching staff that is hindered by injuries.
Phillies Need Pitching Ahead of Deadline
Philadelphia has a major need for pitching ahead of the August 3 MLB trade deadline.
The Phillies have an opening for the fifth rotation spot since Andrew Painter’s demotion. Alan Rangel pitched well in his chance, as Tim Mayza opened the game, and interim manager Don Mattingly said the team is looking at options for the fifth starter.
“At this point, we’ve kind of made a commitment to that spot,” Mattingly said. “I’m not saying we’re making a commitment to a full start every time. It could be an opener, it could be starting. Sometimes it can depend on a team’s lineup construction.”
Mattingly said Mayza being used as an opener was part of the matchups, but he’s leaving the door open for Rangel to be the fifth starter.
“I’ve seen him pitch only a little bit in spring training,” Mattingly said. “But I think the fact that Rangel has been the guy throwing the best, they felt like, down there, he was going to be the best guy long term for us. … We’ll see what he can do. He’s been throwing the ball well. The last time he came up, we felt like he threw the ball well. So we’ll see what it looks like.”
For now, Rangel is the Phillies’ fifth starter, but Philadelphia is likely to trade for a pitcher.
Philadelphia Making Moves to Pitching Staff
With the Phillies having an opening for a fifth starter, the team has been tinkering with its pitching staff.
Philadelphia opted to keep Seth Johnson and option Max Lazar, as Mattingly believes the Phillies have a lot of pitching depth.
“Probably one of the strengths of the staff and the org right now,” Mattingly said. “It seems like there are a number of guys. Like, Max is a perfect example. Max didn’t do anything wrong. … And Max said he understood just because he knows we’ve got a bunch of guys out there right now that are throwing the ball well. And he also understands there’s going to be a time in the year that we’re probably going to need him.”
Despite all the depth, the Phillies need more quality arms ahead of the MLB Trade Deadline.
Phillies Lose 9-Year MLB Veteran Pitcher to NL Rival