The Phillies will select the contract of Hans Crouse to start today’s ballgame. In a corresponding move, outfielder Matt Joyce has been designated for assignment, per The Athletic’s Matt Gelb (via Twitter).
The move is an interesting pivot for a Phillies club that can see the postseason within reach. As Gelb notes, Adonis Medina has been preparing to make this start, but the prospect Crouse will get an opportunity instead. Medina could still appear in the game as a follower, however.
Crouse came to the Phillies along with Kyle Gibson in the deadline deal with the Rangers. Crouse has made just one start in Triple-A, but he’ll get the call in one of the most important games of the year. The 23-year-old has a 3.28 ERA over 20 starts between Double-A and Triple-A. He’ll likely have a short leash in his Major League debut.
Joyce has been injured for much of the year, and at this point, his roster spot is better allocated elsewhere. The 37-year-old has been in the Majors since 2008, slashing .242/.342/425 in 1400 career games spanning 14 years.
jsaldi
Great move getting Crouse in Gibson deal. He will be a star in the coming years
Deleted User
I like Crouse, but he is a 2-pitch guy who is control over command. Throws strikes but doesn’t really hit spots. I think he will make a good high-leverage reliever though.
But who knows. If he develops a change-up/split or a second breaking ball like a cutter, he would have more of a Nathan Eovaldi profile.
User 1104686089
I watched a lot of Crouse at Frisco and kind of came to the same conclusion. He is going to strike guys out, but he will also walk guys. I suspect his 2 pitch arsenal means bullpen in the future.
phillies give me depression
big w
cpdpoet
A season and a half of Gibson, a closer (allowing them to comfortably move Suarez to the rotation) and and a potential back end starter for a guy the Phillies (arguably) broke……and broke again…
No offense to Spencer Howard, hope the guy succeeds, but it was not going to happen in Philly.
Apparently Crouse has a big quirky personality, to go along with talent….something else the team could use. Hopefully the Crouse-era is a fruitful one.
Thank you Dombrowski, thank you…..
StudWinfield
I still don’t understand what TEX got out of this deal. Wasn’t Krouse thier best pitching prospect (prior to the draft)?
VonPurpleHayes
I thought the Phillies got robbed initially until I saw we got Crouse in the deal as well. Spencer Howard has a high ceiling, but he’s nowhere near it.
padnastikador
The Rangers have one of the worst ran organizations in baseball. Terrible owners, terrible front office, terrible coaches. Any players with any talent predictably regress. Congrats to the Phils for taking advantage of them. Philly isn’t the only team who does. Every GM should try to make trades with Jon Daniels.
User 1104686089
No man, Cole winn was the best prospect I think.
VonPurpleHayes
I would go with Medina, but more arms don’t hurt. It’s baffling that this team is in a playoff race when they roll out a bullpen game every 5th start with the worst bullpen in the league.
Phillies essentially need to go 6-1 at the worst to make the playoffs. Doesn’t seem likely, but the fact is there’s still hope on 9/26. Can’t really ask for much more.
Bill Kane
I agree about the phillies lack of depth but it seems like the braves are having a bullpen game today based on what they said on tv last night. Seems like a void of starting pitchers all over baseball
DarkSide830
Chavez i guess? they started him last turn.
VonPurpleHayes
It’s also a strategic move so the Braves and Phillies have their best starters lined up against each other.
DarkSide830
Crouse didnt exactly kill it in his AAA debut. I guess though they want to keep opposing teams guessing with who they’re throwing out there in the BP games?
joblo
He didn’t exactly kill it in his MLB debut today either. Pulled after two innings against the Pirates of all teams.
joblo
I’m sure he’ll never forget giving up a homerun to Cole Tucker on his very first bug league pitch.
jhiphop
He didn’t kill it, but he went 3 innings and the only run he gave up was that first pitch HR. He’s not the reason they lost. Hard to win when you score 0 runs.
jtango
I am always amazed at how Matt Joyce has managed to stick around all this time despite never being more than a decent platoon corner outfielder. Must be a hell of a good guy around the clubhouse or something.
This might be the last time we see him in the majors, so good luck Matt Joyce wherever you are.
cpdpoet
…and he qualifies for the MLB pension. Not a bad way to spend your 20’s and 30’s….Now he can comfortably enter a new phase of his life. Congrats…
Johhos
I forgot Joyce was on the roster…no big deal..
If Crouse can give them several innings and then follow with Medina (3 2/3 last week) for several, all good..Better still would be an early lead ….
Dusty Baker's tooth pick.
Yeah the phillies fleeced the Rangers. Gibson isn’t the 2 and a half era guy like we saw this year but he still is a mid rotation guy they will have next year. Somehow they managed to get a prospect too
VonPurpleHayes
First pitch homer. Probably should’ve went with Medina. Odd move did not pay off.
FredMcGriff for the HOF
@von. Pirates owned the Phillies today. I for one didn’t expect that. I notice the Pirates pinch hit Mitch Keller for David Bednar in the 8th inning while Taylor Davis was available. That was kind of bizarre.
Deleted User
Probably didn’t want to burn the backup catcher in case of an emergency
Tcsbaseball
As a rangers fan I’m still so confused as to why we traded this guy. Made no sense
etex211
JD made it clear that we were never going to get Howard without giving up Crouse.
There isn’t any serious baseball person that will tell you Crouse is a better prospect than Howard. Howard was a top 20 prospect in all of baseball coming into this season. Crouse didn’t crack the top 100.
The first thing the Rangers did with Howard was to start fixing his screwed up mechanics. They’re taking things slowly from there. Long after Gibson and Kennedy are gone, and while Crouse is still struggling, Howard will be performing for the Rangers.
pinstripes17
I highly doubt it, Howard is toast. Texas got fleeced.
VonPurpleHayes
Howard is most definitely not toast. Phillies showed little patience with him. He’s going to be good and has a higher ceiling than Crouse.
etex211
Very few pitchers in recent memory hit the ground running when they are first called up from the minors.
Jose Fernandez did it when he came up in 2013.. How many have there been since then?
Rsox
For a guy signed to be a lefthanded pinch-hitter off the bench Joyce has be horrendous. Lenny Harris at his current age could probably still come off the bench and hit better than Joyce did this season
Bob333
Should have used Medina not Crouse on Sunday another Big Mistake by management