Phillies sign former first-round pitcher to contract

The Philadelphia Phillies announced Tuesday afternoon that they’ve signed left-handed pitcher Kolby Allard.

According to Matt Gelb of The Athletic, Allard signed a split deal that will guarantee him $375,000, but would be worth $1 million if he pitches in the majors, and includes $125,000 in incentives.

Allard will be on the 40-man roster and present in major-league Spring Training. He has one remaining minor-league option, so the Phillies wouldn’t lose Allard if he doesn’t make the Opening Day 26-man roster.

Across 69 career MLB appearances — 38 of which have been starts — Allard is 9-24 with a 6.10 ERA and 5.31 FIP, so there isn’t an impressive track record at the MLB level. With that said, he has a 3.71 ERA in 62 career starts as Triple-A.

The 26-year-old was the No. 14 overall pick by the Atlanta Braves in the 2015 MLB Draft out of San Clemente High School in San Diego, selected above players like Josh Naylor and Walker Buehler. Allard made his Major League debut for the Braves in 2018, but was traded to the Texas Rangers in July of 2019 for reliever Chris Martin. He returned to the Braves in the November 2022 trade that sent RHP Jake Odorizzi and cash considerations back to the Rangers. The Braves ultimately non-tendered him back in November, which is why he was a free agent that still has remaining minor-league options.

Allard has a four-pitch mix, consisting of a low-90s fastball, a cutter, curveball and changeup. He’s the type of pitcher you take a flier on when it appears that you don’t have any spots open in your starting rotation but still want to have depth in case any of Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Ranger Suárez, Taijuan Walker or Cristopher Sánchez were to get injured. The lefty could also be an option as a long reliever for manager Rob Thomson.

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