The Phillies announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Tyler Cyr. To make room on the active roster, right-hander Seranthony Dominguez is heading to the 15-day injured list due to triceps soreness. A spot on the 40-man was opened up by Corey Knebel getting transferred to the 60-day IL with a tear in his shoulder capsule. He will not return to the club this season.
It’s yet another unfortunate setback for Knebel, 30, who has frequently oscillated between promising mound work and injury absences. After an excellent run with Milwaukee over the 2015-2018 seasons, he was able to throw only 39 total innings over the next three seasons due to various injuries. The Phillies took a shot on him by giving him a one-year, $10MM contract for 2022. Knebel threw 44 2/3 innings with a 3.43 ERA, which will now go down as his final results for the year, since he won’t return. He’ll head to free agency in a few months, but his recovery from this injury will determine the level of interest.
As for Dominguez, 27, it’s unclear exactly how long the Phillies expect him to be out of action. Regardless, it’s a frustrating setback in what has been a very encouraging season. After Tommy John surgery caused him to miss 2020 and limited him to just one inning in 2021, he has thrown 44 innings this season with an incredible 1.64 ERA. He’s striking out 32% of batters faced, walking just 8.3% of them and getting grounders on 49% of balls in play. That’s primarily come in high leverage situations as well, with Dominguez racking up nine saves and 13 holds on the season. His departure will definitely impair the Phillies’ bullpen for as long as he’s away.
Cyr, 29, was selected by the Giants in the 10th round of the 2015 draft. He showed enough promise in the lower levels of their system to crack Baseball America’s list of top San Francisco farmhands, coming in at #26 in 2018. However, he was met with some struggles when he got to the top of the minor league ladder.
He first reached Triple-A in 2019, getting a single appearance there as the season was winding down. Then the pandemic wiped out the minor leagues entirely in 2020. Cyr then returned to Triple-A in 2021 but registered a 4.91 ERA in 36 2/3 innings that year. He racked up strikeouts at an incredible 31.6% rate but also a 13.5% walk rate. His 52.5% ground ball rate was also quite strong, but he was knocked around by allowing four homers in that sample, a 17.4% HR/FB rate.
After reaching free agency, he signed with the Phillies for 2022 and has had a better showing. He has a 2.50 ERA through 36 innings. His strikeout rate has dropped to 24.8% and he’s still walking 12.1% of batters faced, but he’s still getting grounders on 51.1% of balls in play and hasn’t allowed a home run. Based on that strong showing, he’s been selected to a major league roster for the first time and will make his big league debut as soon as he gets into a game.
Matt Gelb of The Athletic tweeted out the news prior to the official announcement.
Yikes, didn’t know we were looking at something that bad. Well, Cyr has looked good for LHV.
Seranthony going on the IL too. Yikes.
It’s what happens when everyone has to throw over 90mph. Hire Phil Niekro to teach the knuckle ball.
I think it’s the repeated upper-90s heat that’s really shredding arms. Sadly, it’s being dictated as the price of doing business.
It’s not the heat so much so the torque from big breaking offerings at an early age. I’m 21, but I remember as early as little league (ages 8-12) coaches teaching kids how to throw curveballs and sliders, and then sending them to fall ball, and then to winter clinics, and then back to spring and summer leagues. Many of these guys have been pitching all year around since they were 10 years old or younger.
mlb1225, good point. The one-sport obsession and parents wanting to live vicariously through their children are a bad combination.
Phil Niekro died in 2020.
Maybe Tim Wakefield? I am pretty sure he’s still alive
RA Dickey.
Not good news for PHI. They are fortunate they are facing a rookie today and have a relatively easy schedule left. MIL by contrast has a tougher one
Injuries, Injuries… My least favorite.
He threw 39 innings in 3 seasons due to multiple injuries and was still able to get a $10mil contract for one season. What is wrong with this picture?
Nothing? It’s the market price these days. He had a very good 2021 so he got paid on a 1 year deal. He was having a pretty solid 2022, maybe not quite living up to the salary but performing respectably enough to make the contract reasonable. Now he’ll make much less next season, probably.
I sometimes wonder how much of player injuries are due to a clubs’ medical staff vs just dumb luck. The ChiSox fired their trainer after all their injuries last year and yet they’ve had even more this year. Then again, some players are just made of glass it seems.
rememberthecoop;
Sometimes injuries happen based on the type of players a FO rosters. I won’t hide the fact that I have a low opinion of the Sox FO and their approach. But not withstanding unfortunate incidents and maybe bad luck, what strikes me about the Sox roster configurations since Kenny Williams took over (except when Ozzie was arguing with him for players that were gamers) are that he tends to bring in burley guys that can barrel a ball at bat or throw hard as a pitcher. He doesn’t get a lot of athletic players that possess high baseball IQ’s. He does have some. Players that stay in shape, pace themselves, and pick their spots as opposed to going out 100% every inning of every game tend to have fewer injuries. Diving for a ball that might land for a single in the early innings might look good in the games highlights, but it usually doesn’t affect the outcome of a game yet can lead to injuries then, or upset something internal that can lead to an injury in the future.
To be positive – Jose Abreu is a solid, consistent, and clutch hitter….as good as anyone in MLB. But he’s a terrible defender in that he makes far too many mental errors (along with physical misplays) and should be a full-time DH. But he lost a lot of weight, comes in prepared to play physically, and has averaged 137 games a year with the Sox – which includes the shortened 2020 season and 2022 still having about 30% of the year to go.
They should allow rosters to expand to 29 players in Sept,. Keep the 14 max pitchers allowed for Sept.
Ser > Cyr
Cyr’s performance today was disastrous.
Whither Mark Appel….?
I don’t get it either… he pitched decently when he was up with the Phillies.
The bullpen was actually doing well since the end of May. I’m not sure why the Phillies didn’t call up Mark Appel who pitched well (even if not in late inning outings). Cyr was not helpful.
Could have certainly used these guys today. Another disgusting loss against the Mets. Team just falls apart against the Mets (who are an excellent team anyway).
Man that was some PTSD loss by PHI. This dramatic pen situation reared its head immediately
I’m a lifer. This is not 2008. There is no rescue. There are not enough players “getting hot” at the right time; yet we do have streakiness, injuries and giant flubs at major clutch moments.
They have to figure out where all these “DH-quality defensive” guys are going to play. You can’t keep Bohm at 3rd and Rhys really can only play 1st. Bryce Harper is okay in right but he’ll need to stop the Aaron Rowand gutsiness.
8 is mediocre with the exceptions of a few weeks.
They will be eliminated it’s just a matter of time.
Another in the long line of failed attempts to straighten out this bullpen. Maybe we can try him again by trade in 3 years when he gets healthy, ala David Robertson