The Phillies introduced Wednesday that right-hander Michael Rucker has been designated for project. His spot on the 40-man roster will go to fellow righty Nick Nelson, whose contract has been chosen from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Philadelphia additionally optioned righty Tyler Phillips to Lehigh Valley to open a spot on the energetic roster for Nelson.
Rucker, 30, was acquired in a money cope with the Cubs again in February after he’d been designated for project in Chicago. He by no means received right into a sport with the Phillies within the majors, as an alternative spending a lot of the season on the 60-day injured record owing to an arterial vasospasm in his proper hand. The Phils reinstated and optioned him previous to the commerce deadline. He’s pitched 26 minor league innings this season and been tagged for a 6.58 ERA, with the majority of the harm coming in Triple-A.
Grim as Rucker’s run-prevention has been, his 26.7% strikeout charge and eight.6% stroll charge are each fantastic marks (significantly the previous). He’s additionally saved the ball on the bottom at a robust 45.2% clip. Rucker, nonetheless, has been affected by an astronomical .479 common on balls in play throughout his time with the IronPigs.
As lately as 2022, Rucker was a strong 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 charge and eight.7% stroll charge in that point. His followup effort in 2023 resulted in a extra troubling 4.91 ERA in 40 2/3 frames, however his strikeout and stroll numbers remained typically serviceable and his grounder charge spiked to a robust 51.4%. General, Rucker carries a 4.96 ERA in 123 1/3 innings as a serious leaguer.
Rucker will now head to waivers, the place one other membership might have curiosity in his strong Triple-A monitor report. If not, he’ll be outrighted off the 40-man roster and keep on with the Phillies as a depth piece. Rucker lacks the three years of service or prior outright project to elect free company.
The 26-year-old Phillips has had one of many strangest debut campaigns in current reminiscence. The unheralded righty dominated by means of his first 4 massive league outings, culminating a shutout of the AL Central-leading Guardians on July 27. He didn’t final two innings in his subsequent begin, yielding eight runs to a light-hitting Mariners offense, and has but to get well. His struggles reached a tipping level when he allowed six runs within the first inning versus the Blue Jays in yesterday’s begin. Overalll, since his shutout, Phillips has yielded 23 runs in simply 11 2/3 innings. His ERA has skyrocketed from 1.80 to six.87.
Extra to come back.
