The Phillies announced Wednesday that right-hander Michael Rucker has been designated for assignment. His spot on the 40-man roster will go to fellow righty Nick Nelson, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Philadelphia also optioned righty Tyler Phillips to Lehigh Valley to open a spot on the active roster for Nelson.
Rucker, 30, was acquired in a cash deal with the Cubs back in February after he’d been designated for assignment in Chicago. He never got into a game with the Phillies in the majors, instead spending most of the season on the 60-day injured list owing to an arterial vasospasm in his right hand. The Phils reinstated and optioned him prior to the trade deadline. He’s pitched 26 minor league innings this season and been tagged for a 6.58 ERA, with the bulk of the damage coming in Triple-A.
Grim as Rucker’s run-prevention has been, his 26.7% strikeout rate and 8.6% walk rate are both fine marks (particularly the former). He’s also kept the ball on the ground at a strong 45.2% clip. Rucker, however, has been plagued by an astronomical .479 average on balls in play during his time with the IronPigs.
As recently as 2022, Rucker was a solid 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 rate and 8.7% walk rate in that time. His followup effort in 2023 resulted in a more troubling 4.91 ERA in 40 2/3 frames, but his strikeout and walk numbers remained generally serviceable and his grounder rate spiked to a strong 51.4%. Overall, Rucker carries a 4.96 ERA in 123 1/3 innings as a major leaguer.
Rucker will now head to waivers, where another club could have interest in his solid Triple-A track record. If not, he’ll be outrighted off the 40-man roster and stick with the Phillies as a depth piece. Rucker lacks the three years of service or prior outright assignment to elect free agency.
The 26-year-old Phillips has had one of the strangest debut campaigns in recent memory. The unheralded righty dominated through his first four big league outings, culminating a shutout of the AL Central-leading Guardians on July 27. He didn’t last two innings in his next start, yielding eight runs to a light-hitting Mariners offense, and has yet to recover. His struggles reached a tipping point when he allowed six runs in the first inning versus the Blue Jays in yesterday’s start. Overalll, since his shutout, Phillips has yielded 23 runs in just 11 2/3 innings. His ERA has skyrocketed from 1.80 to 6.87.
Taking Phillips’ spot on the roster will be Nelson, who’s spent the past three seasons with the Phils. He only pitched in 3 1/3 innings this season and has struggled to produce in Triple-A, where he’s logged a 6.30 ERA on the season. It could be a quick stay on the 40-man roster in Nelson’s return, but he’s stretched out for multiple innings and could give the Phillies four or even five innings of work on the heels of yesterday’s marathon game for the bullpen, if needed. Nelson tossed four innings in a Triple-A appearance as recently as Aug. 24. And, while he’s struggled on the season overall, Nelson has been throwing better of late; he’s yielded only one run in his past 9 1/3 innings pitched in Triple-A.
I knew he wouldn’t work out. The man has a sword for a hand for goodness sake.
But it was sad that Daryl had to brain his own brother.
I’m lost – which brother Daryl?
Walking Dead show scene where Daryl had to put Michael Rookers character down cause he turned.
I believe it was his other brother Daryl. (Newhart (tv show) reference.)
That is what I was referencing… ; )
I respect him for making the transition to baseball after playing years for the Carolina Panthers. Hopefully he can bounce back