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Phillies To Activate Trea Turner

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September 27: Turner will be activated for tomorrow’s regular season finale, Thomson said this evening (via Lochlahn March of The Philadelphia Inquirer). He’ll be back in the starting lineup at shortstop to get some defensive work. The Phillies are locked into the #2 seed and will play one of the Dodgers, Reds or Mets in the Division Series.

September 25: Trea Turner has been sidelined since he strained his right hamstring on September 7. The Phillies have maintained for the past three weeks that they believe their star shortstop would be ready for the postseason. Manager Rob Thomson confirmed Thursday that’ll be the case, and the Phillies haven’t closed the door on Turner returning for their final regular season game or two (link via Matt Gelb of The Athletic).

“We want to make sure he’s 100 percent,” Thomson said of Turner’s chance of returning this weekend. “We know he’s going to be there for the playoffs. I think the work he’s done here has been very good. His timing is pretty good. … We’d like him to play, but is it super important? No. Not really. As long as he’s healthy.”

Philly has secured a first-round bye. They’re technically still in the running for the #1 seed, but that’s a long shot. They’d need to sweep Minnesota this weekend while relying on the Reds to sweep the Brewers. Activating Turner from the injured list would be about getting him a few tune-up plate appearances before the playoffs.

While the team’s success is obviously the top consideration, a return this weekend could aid him in a couple statistical categories. Turner is hitting .305, which puts him on track to win the second batting title of his career. Nico Hoerner was the only other qualified NL hitter above .300 entering play today, but he went 0-4 to drop to .299.

Turner may hang onto the batting title by default, but he’d probably need to come back if he’s to hold his league lead in hits. He’s still atop the Senior Circuit with 179 knocks, but Luis Arraez (176) and Hoerner (175) have pulled close behind while he’s been out. Turner has an outside shot to lead the majors in hits if he comes back tomorrow or Saturday. Bo Bichette, who is out with a knee sprain until the start of the postseason, has an MLB-high 181 hits. Bobby Witt Jr. pulled even with Turner for second place in a three-hit performance today. Turner led the majors in hits in consecutive seasons from 2020-21.

The three-time All-Star acknowledged that he’d like to win the batting title but noted to Gelb and other reporters that “the postseason is more important.” Turner has progressed to various baseball activities. He’s hitting against Phils’ minor league arms, fielding grounders, and running. Harrison Bader has moved to the top of the lineup in Turner’s absence. Bryson Stott was playing shortstop for a while but slid back to second base with Edmundo Sosa coming back from his own injury yesterday.

The Division Series begin next Saturday, October 4. Assuming the Phillies wind up as the #2 seed, they’ll line up for a potential first-round matchup with the defending champions. The Dodgers clinched the NL West and the third seed with a win today. They’d square off against the #2 if they defeat whichever of the Mets, Reds or Diamondbacks secures the last spot in the Wild Card round.

Phillies Outright Donovan Walton

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The Phillies announced that infielder Donovan Walton has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He had been designated for assignment a couple of days ago when fellow infielder Edmundo Sosa was reinstated from the injured list.

Walton, 31, was added to the Philly roster a few weeks ago when both Trea Turner and Alec Bohm hit the IL. He was hitting .339/.413/.424 for the IronPigs at the time. He lasted a little over two weeks on the big league roster but got into just two games. He went one for eight with a single and a sacrifice bunt in nine plate appearances.

Combined with his time as a Mariner and a Giant, he has now appeared in 72 big league games with a .172/.223/.298 slash line in 214 plate appearances. He has performed far better on the farm, with a .282/.369/.432 line and 111 wRC+ dating back to the start of 2021. He provides defensive versatility, with experience at all four infield spots and left field. But the lack of major league success and his out-of-options status make it hard for him to keep a roster spot for long.

Walton has previously been outrighted in his career. That means he has the right to reject this assignment and elect free agency. It’s possible he accepts since he would remain postseason eligible with the Phillies. Lehigh Valley’s season is done, so he wouldn’t need to actually report to that club. If a few injuries pop up for the Phillies, he could return to the big league roster. If he stays in the system and doesn’t get added back to the roster, he would be eligible for free agency at season’s end anyway.

Photo courtesy of Bill Streicher, Imagn Images

MLBTR Podcast: The Tigers And Astros Try To Hang On, And Brewers’ Rotation Issues

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • Why do people keep suggesting the Cardinals trade Brendan Donovan? (30:25)
  • Who will the Phillies re-sign out of their impending free agents? (41:00)
  • What was the revenue sharing for each club last year? (48:00)

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Photo courtesy of Jim Rassol, Imagn Images

Phillies Designate Donovan Walton For Assignment

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The Phillies announced today that infielder Edmundo Sosa has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list. To open an active roster spot for him, fellow infielder Donovan Walton has been designated for assignment.

Walton, 31, appeared in only two games for the Phils at the MLB level this season. He went 1-for-8 with a single and a sacrifice bunt in that brief look. That was his sixth season with at least some major league time, though the journeyman utility player has never topped 78 plate appearances in a given MLB campaign. In 72 games and 214 plate appearances between the Mariners, Giants and Phillies, Walton is a career .172/.223/.298 hitter.

As one would expect, Walton is a far better hitter in the upper minors. He’s played in parts of five Triple-A seasons and touts a much more impressive .281/.365/.435 batting line in 1479 trips to the plate. On top of that solid track record at the top minor league level, Walton is a versatile defender who’s logged nearly 3200 innings at second base and more than 2900 innings at shortstop in addition to shorter stints at third base (208 innings) and in left field (244 innings).

Walton is out of minor league options, so the Phillies couldn’t send him to Triple-A without first designating him for assignment. Even if he clears waivers — the only possible action for the Phils now that the trade deadline has passed — he’ll have the ability to elect free agency over a minor league assignment. And, even if he were to accept an outright assignment and stick with Philadelphia as a depth option for the remainder of their 2025 run, Walton can become a minor league free agent at season’s end.

Nick Castellanos Criticizes “Questionable” Communication With Rob Thomson

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Nick Castellanos has gone from being the Phillies’ everyday right fielder into a platoon with Max Kepler, in a reflection of how both players have delivered underwhelming numbers in 2025.  The change has been a little more jarring for Castellanos given his longer history with the team and longer track record as a lineup regular, and it is clear that the veteran isn’t pleased with how things have played out.

Speaking with the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Scott Lauber and other media after yesterday’s 8-2 win over the Diamondbacks, Castellanos stressed that he is “here to do whatever I can to make sure that Philadelphia wins a World Series ring,” and that any talk that he is unhappy “would be creating a narrative.”  However, he also indicated some hard feelings towards manager Rob Thomson, rhetorically asking “who says that?” when a reporter noted that Thomson has been praised for his directness by several players.

“Communication over the years has been questionable, at least in my experience…. There’s just been times where things have been said, and then, over the course of years, I’ll have expectations because I’ll latch on to what’s being said and then actions would be different,” Castellanos said.  “And then I’m kind of left just thinking and whatnot.  But again, like it is what it is.  Adapt, do what I can.  At the end of the day we’re here to win a World Series.”

While Castellanos’ comments indicate a longer-lasting issue, the relationship between player and manager drew public attention on June 17, when Castellanos was benched for the Phillies’ 8-3 loss to the Marlins.  The previous night, Thomson said Castellanos made an “inappropriate” comment after being removed from the game for defensive purposes, and the outfielder was sat out a game as punishment.  Missing that June 17 contest snapped a personal streak of 236 consecutive games played for Castellanos.

As to how the two are communicating lately, Castellanos (perhaps tellingly) referenced playing time, saying “I don’t really talk to Rob all that often.  I play whenever he tells me to play, and then sit whenever he tells me to sit.”

Disputes between players and managers are as old as baseball itself, so while Castellanos’ candor about the situation is newsworthy, it may not create any short-term issues within the Phillies’ clubhouse.  Despite Castellanos’ displeasure, the numbers also suggest that the platoon is working — since the start of September, Kepler is hitting .263/.373/.500 over 51 plate appearances, and Castellanos is batting .323/.353/.548 in 34 PA.

Even with this recent hot streak, Castellanos has still managed only a 94 wRC+, and an overall slash line of .255/.299/.411 (with 17 homers) over 566 PA.  Between his subpar offense and lackluster defense, Castellanos has been worth -0.4 fWAR this season — the second time in his four years in Philadelphia that the veteran has posted a sub-replacement performance.

All in all, Castellanos has generated 1.0 fWAR and an exactly average 100 wRC+ over his four seasons with the Phillies.  It wasn’t what the team expected when signing the slugger to a five-year, $100MM free agent deal, and the final $20MM of that contract is still owed to Castellanos for the 2026 season.  While that isn’t an insignificant sum for a team to just eat, it is fair to wonder if the Phillies might consider simply releasing Castellanos this winter, unless a trade can be worked out that would still very likely require the Phils to cover the bulk of the remaining salary.

For now, Castellanos is simply focused on the playoffs, and refused to consider his future with the Phillies.  “Why would I do that in front of what we have ahead of us?  That would be really selfish and take away from what we’re trying to do as a group….I’m here to win.  [Owner] John Middleton is paying me money so that I can help the Philadelphia Phillies win a World Series,” he said.

Phillies Activate Alec Bohm, Outright Brewer Hicklen

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The Phillies activated third baseman Alec Bohm off the 10-day injured list, and optioned infielder Rafael Lantigua to Triple-A in the corresponding move.  In another transaction, the club also outrighted outfielder Brewer Hicklen to Triple-A after Hicklen (who was designated for assignment earlier this week) cleared waivers.

Bohm returns after a minimal stint, as his retroactive IL placement date was September 8.  A left shoulder cyst was the cause of Bohm’s absence, as he had to have the cyst drained and treated in order to correct the discomfort in his non-throwing arm.  The issue wasn’t seen as serious, so taking 10 days to fix the problem now gives Bohm some time to get back to action and get ramped up in advance of the playoffs.

Over 464 plate appearances this season, Bohm has hit .272/.319/.384 with nine home runs, translating to a subpar 94 wRC+.  It has been a up-and-down season for the third baseman, with injuries have been the story of his second half.  Between a fractured rib and his shoulder cyst, Bohm has been limited to just 20 games since the All-Star break, and he has hit only .231/.282/.333 over 85 PA during those 20 games.

The Phillies have clinched the NL East and are likely going to receive a first-round bye, giving the club some extra time to get healthy.  Bohm is now back, though the Phils are still short-handed in the infield with Trea Turner and Edmundo Sosa on the IL.  These absences opened the door for Lantigua to receive his first call to the majors on Tuesday, but he’ll return to Lehigh Valley without an official MLB debut, as Lantigua didn’t receive any playing time during his cup of coffee in the Show.

Lantigua’s selection to the 40-man roster came at Hicklen’s absence, as Hicklen found himself DFA’ed for the third time this season.  All three of those designations came with different teams.  The Brewers DFA’ed Hicklen on Opening Day and then traded him to the Tigers a day later, and Philadelphia then swung a trade in late July after Detroit designated Hicklen again.

Though all of these travels, Hicklen has appeared in exactly one big league game in 2025 — he had two hits as the Tigers’ starting center fielder in an 11-1 win over the Rockies on May 8, as Detroit swept a double-header against Colorado.  These were the first two hits of Hicklen’s brief Major League career, which consists of 10 games with the Royals, Brewers, and Tigers from 2022-25.

Most of Hicklen’s playing time has come in Triple-A ball over these last four seasons, with a solid .240/.346/.464 career slash line in 1731 PA at the top minor league level.  His numbers have taken a dip this year, however, as Hicklen has topped out at a .730 OPS while playing with the Phillies’ and Tigers’ top affiliates.  Unless a late injury changes Philadelphia’s plans, Hicklen will likely finish 2025 in Lehigh Valley.  He hasn’t been previously outrighted in his career and he has much less than three years of MLB service time, so Hicklen wasn’t able to reject the outright assignment in favor of free agency.

Phillies Select Rafael Lantigua

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The Phillies announced they’ve selected infielder Rafael Lantigua onto the big league roster. He replaces Edmundo Sosa, who heads to the 10-day injured list (retroactive to September 13) with a right groin strain. Philly needed to create a spot on the 40-man roster, so they designated outfielder Brewer Hicklen for assignment.

Lantigua gets his first major league call at age 27. A 5’7″ infielder, he signed with the Blue Jays as an amateur from the Dominican Republic. The righty-hitting utilityman played in the Toronto system through the end of last season. He spent two and a half seasons at Triple-A Buffalo without getting a major league call. Lantigua departed the organization last winter as a minor league free agent, catching on with the Phils on a non-roster deal.

Philadelphia assigned Lantigua to their top minor league affiliate. He has hit .232/.359/.333 across 491 trips to the plate for Lehigh Valley. Lantigua’s batted ball metrics and power numbers are unimpressive, but he has a clear understanding of the strike zone. He has walked at a huge 15.7% clip while rarely chasing pitches off the plate. He pairs that with plus bat-to-ball skills and a tidy 14.3% strikeout percentage.

Lantigua is mostly a second baseman. He has logged 661 innings there while tallying a little over 300 frames at third base. He has made a handful of starts at shortstop and in left field as well. Last month, Baseball America surveyed minor league managers on the various tools for rookie-eligible players. Lantigua was named the International League’s top defensive second baseman.

It could be a brief stay on the big league roster. The Phils are without each of Trea Turner, Alec Bohm and Sosa for the time being. Turner has a Grade 1 hamstring strain and is trying to make it back before the end of the regular season. Sosa will miss at least a week. Bohm could be back by this weekend’s series in Arizona, however, which probably pushes an infielder back to the minors. Bryson Stott is at shortstop tonight, leaving Weston Wilson and Otto Kemp at second and third base, respectively. Lantigua and the out-of-options Donovan Walton are available off the bench.

Hicklen landed with Philly in late July in a DFA trade with the Tigers. The 29-year-old has been on optional assignment to Lehigh Valley for the past two and a half months. Hicklen has turned in a .218/.293/.437 slash with eight homers but a near-32% strikeout rate over 32 games. He owns a .221/.318/.403 line between the Detroit and Philadelphia farm systems this year overall. Hicklen made one appearance for the Tigers, going 2-3 with a walk and a stolen base at Coors Field on May 8. He’ll be placed on waivers this week.

Matt Strahm Triggers Vesting Option

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Phillies reliever Matt Strahm completed a perfect eighth inning for a hold tonight against the Dodgers. In the process, he crossed the 60-inning threshold and vested a $7.5MM option for the 2026 season. The southpaw will still need to pass a postseason physical for the option to go into effect.

Strahm initially joined the Phils on a two-year, $15MM free agent contract during the 2022-23 offseason. That has turned into an excellent value for Dave Dombrowski’s front office. Strahm turned in a 3.29 ERA across 87 2/3 innings during his first season with the club. Philadelphia signed him to a one-year extension for the 2025 season before the ’24 campaign even got underway.

The 33-year-old Strahm has responded with arguably the best two years of his career. He worked to a 1.87 ERA over 66 appearances a year ago and holds a 2.83 mark in 60 1/3 frames this season. His velocity has ticked down, but he’s still punching out 28% of batters faced against an 8% walk rate. He carried a solid 11.7% swinging strike percentage into tonight’s performance.

Philly has increasingly leaned on Strahm as one of their top bullpen weapons. He has a career-best 21 holds. In the second half, only closer Jhoan Duran has entered in higher-leverage situations on average. Strahm is alongside David Robertson and Orion Kerkering as the Phils’ top setup arms going into the playoffs. José Alvarado is ineligible for the postseason because of his failed performance-enhancing drug test. Strahm and Tanner Banks will go into October as manager Rob Thomson’s top two southpaws, while waiver pickup Tim Mayza looks like a borderline candidate to make the playoff roster.

The Phillies would very likely have exercised Strahm’s option even if he had fallen shy of the 60-inning mark. Philadelphia will be happy to retain him on an affordable salary for a leverage reliever. Duran will be back in the ninth inning, while Kerkering and Banks remain under control for multiple seasons. The Phils hold a $9MM option on Alvarado, whose season ended last week when he was diagnosed with a forearm strain.

Phillies Outright Matt Manning

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The Phillies announced that Matt Manning has been outrighted to Double-A Reading. He cleared waivers after being designated for assignment on Saturday as the corresponding move for Walker Buehler’s promotion.

It’s the first career outright assignment for Manning, the ninth overall pick in 2016. The Tigers draftee was part of a touted contingent of pitching prospects that also included Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize. Manning hasn’t had anywhere near the same level of success as Mize, much less approached Skubal’s ace form. The lanky right-hander started 50 games for Detroit between 2021-24. He pitched to a 4.43 earned run average with a well below-average 16.4% strikeout rate across 254 innings.

Manning has not spent any time in the majors this season. Detroit optioned him fairly early in Spring Training. They’d used him mostly out of the bullpen in Triple-A, but that didn’t spur much success. He was carrying a 6.04 ERA over 31 appearances when the Tigers designated him for assignment at the trade deadline. They flipped him to Philly for a low minors outfielder (Josueth Quinonez). The Phils sent Manning back to Double-A, where he walked seven batters and allowed six runs in five innings over a pair of starts.

The 27-year-old Manning will finish the season in the Phils organization. He’ll become a minor league free agent at the end of the season unless Philadelphia adds him back to the 40-man roster within the next few weeks. He should be able to find a minor league contract somewhere over the winter.

Phillies Notes: Wheeler, Romano, Turner, Bohm

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The Phillies have been without ace right-hander Zack Wheeler in their rotation since August 15, and late last month it was announced that he had been recommended for surgery to correct thoracic outlet syndrome. Today, the Phillies revealed to reporters (including Charlotte Varnes of The Athletic) that Wheeler is set to go under the knife on September 23.

At the time of the club’s original announcement about Wheeler needing surgery, it was suggested that the procedure typically came with a 6-8 month recovery timeline. Assuming that holds true, Wheeler going under the knife later this month would mean that he could return to the Phillies’ rotation sometime in the first half of 2026. A best case scenario would seem to suggest that he’d miss the first few weeks of the regular season, with the longer end of that projected timeline getting Wheeler back on the mound a couple of weeks before the All-Star break. Of course, timelines like this are all largely hypothetical until the procedure actually occurs, and even afterwards there’s always the possibility of a setback or other developments changing the time table even further.

Still, the idea that Wheeler should be back on the mound at some point in the first half next year should surely be encouraging for fans in Philadelphia. The unquestioned ace of the club’s rotation, Wheeler has become more important to the team than ever as Ranger Suarez enters what could be the final weeks of his Phillies tenure with free agency coming up in November while Aaron Nola scuffles through a career-worst season. Cristopher Sanchez’s emergence as a legitimate front-of-the-rotation arm will go a long way to helping the team get by without Wheeler to take the lead, but it nonetheless goes without saying that the sooner the 35-year-old can return to the mound, the better off the organization will be.

The club’s news on injured right-hander Jordan Romano offers less reason for optimism. Romano has been on the shelf since August 26 due to finger inflammation, and today manager Rob Thomson provided the update to reporters (including Varnes) that Romano has been feeling numbness in his middle finger and stiffness in his neck. Thomson went on to suggest that it could be a “nerve thing” that Romano is dealing with, though he did not elaborate beyond that.

Romano has had a tough season with the Phillies after signing a one-year deal this winter. He’s pitched to a brutal 8.23 ERA in 42 2/3 innings of work this year despite solid peripherals (including a 3.65 SIERA) thanks in large part to an unbelievably low 49.0% strand rate after entering the season with a career 81.3% figure. While it’s not impossible to imagine Romano righting the ship if he can only come back healthy, the possibility of a lingering nerve problem being the cause of his inflammation would seemingly create pessimism about his ability to return this season and help the Phillies out during the postseason before he returns to free agency in November.

There’s more optimistic news to be had on the positional side of things, at least, as both Alec Bohm and Trea Turner are both making progress as they look to return from the injured list. Both players were placed on the shelf on September 8. Bohm was dealing with shoulder soreness, while Turner had been diagnosed with a grade 1 hamstring strain. With the Phillies in the thick of the playoff race and in position to claim a bye through the Wild Card round of the postseason, getting the left side of the club’s infield back in action as soon as possible would be a massive boost. Fortunately, Varnes relays that Turner did some running and played catch today with an eye towards swinging a bat later this week, while Bohm is already set to hit off a tee today.

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