At the time, it didn’t seem like a move of any consequence.
On March 31 last year, the Phillies signed a 30-year-old veteran relief pitcher to a one-year minor league contract. He had pitched in the big leagues for seven years with the Rockies and Reds, won 15 games and lost 21 over 134 games and had a career 5.68 ERA. It was a move that was relegated to one line of a press release, the type of front office acquisition that is largely ignored by the fanbase.
The player’s name in question is Jeff Hoffman, who would go on to become the most effective right-handed reliever out of the Phillies’ bullpen last year and a lynchpin to its success in 2024.
Over the last week, team president Dave Dombrowski added five additional players to the 40-man roster, as we discussed on the latest edition of Hittin’ Season.
They are pitchers and players who can be optioned back and forth to the minor leagues for depth purposes. None of them were anywhere near the middle of any “top MLB free agent” list this off-season, and the casual fan could be excused for greeting all these signings with a collective yawn.
Jeff Hoffman is a reminder that you never know when players like these could turn out to be very consequential indeed.
Last week, they claimed 24-year-old right-handed pitcher Max Castillo off waivers from the Boston Red Sox. Castillo is young and inexperienced, making just seven appearances with the Royals last year and giving up 10 earned runs in those five appearances for a 4.43 ERA. In AAA, his ERA was 4.58 in 21 starts. Not exactly lighting the world on fire.
The Phils signed 26-year-old Kolby Allard (who I kept calling “Kyle” on the podcast to give you some indication of my confidence level in this kid) to a $1 million Major League deal. He made just four appearances with Atlanta last year and struck out 13 in 12 and a third innings, but started the season on the Injured List with a strained oblique and book-ended it with another 60-day IL stint with nerve inflammation in his pitching shoulder. The left-hander has a career 6.10 ERA in 69 games (38 starts).
They also landed relief pitcher Michael Rucker from the Cubs in exchange for cash. He’s 30 years old and appeared in 96 games while in Chicago in 2022-23. He had a 4.91 ERA in 40.1 innings last year and a 3.95 ERA the season before in 54.2 innings. In terms of his strikeout, walk and ground ball rates, he is the very definition of league average.
And Dombrowski also landed a fourth pitcher, former Tigers starter Spencer Turnbull, who has had the most MLB success of any of the names mentioned. He pitched a no-hitter with Detroit in May of 2021, and was very good in the pandemic year of 2020. He went 8-6 with a 3.46 ERA in 20 starts with a 1.17 WHIP and just 4 HRs allowed in 106 and two thirds innings in 2020 and early ‘21 before he went down with an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery three starts after that no-no. Last year, he made just seven starts due to neck discomfort and a cracked toenail that sidelined him for a bulk of the season.
The Phillies did add one position player, infielder/outfielder Diego Castillo, a 26-year-old who can play all over the field. He doesn’t hit for any power but, in his minor league career, has shown a penchant for getting on base a lot. He could be called up in the event the team needs another corner outfielder or someone to man second, third or shortstop this season.
Of course, were the Phillies to surprise us all and sign a big name, any one of these guys could be on their way out the door. But Dombrowski is clearly prioritizing flexibility and depth with these signings, and as with Jeff Hoffman, you never know if and when one of these players could have a real impact for the Phils in 2024.
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