Phillies call up reliever Orion Kerkering

The Philadelphia Phillies have promoted reliever Orion Kerkering to the majors, the club announced Friday. Phillies Nation‘s Ty Daubert ranked Kerkering as the No. 9 prospect in the organization over the summer.

To make room for Kerkering on the 26-man roster, Yunior Marte has been optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Infielder Drew Ellis was designated for assignment, which opens up a 40-man roster spot for Kerkering.

Kerkering has appeared in 49 games across four levels of the minor leagues this season, posting a 1.51 ERA and 0.894 WHIP. Earlier this week, the 22-year-old was named the Paul Owens Award winner as the top minor league pitcher in the Phillies system this season.

The largest chunk of Kerkering’s outings came at Double-A Reading, and he made just one appearance at Triple-A Lehigh Valley before this promotion. He’ll give manager Rob Thomson another right-handed option in the final days of the regular season, as well as potentially into the postseason, as he would be eligible to pitch in the playoffs despite his late promotion. Matt Gelb of The Athletic

explained why that’s the case:

“The Phillies can use him as an injury replacement for Rhys Hoskins, who is on the 60-day injured list and will likely not participate in the postseason.

“According to MLB rules: ‘A player who doesn’t meet said criteria for postseason eligibility can still be added to a team’s roster in the postseason via petition to the Commissioner’s Office if the player was in the organization on Aug. 31 and is replacing someone who is on the injured list and has served the minimum amount of time required for activation.'”

Having another righty out of the bullpen could prove to be crucial for the Phillies in the playoffs. While Jeff Hoffman has been a revelation this season, Seranthony Domínguez has disappointed for much of the year, posting a 4.02 ERA and 4.92 FIP over 54 games. Meanwhile, Craig Kimbrel has largely been excellent, but he is 35 years old and has a history of running out of gas in the postseason.

We’ll have more details on this story as they come in…