Phillies news and rumors 2/15: Dylan Covey continues to survive 40-man crunch

Dylan Covey remains in the Phillies organization. (John Adams/Icon Sportswire)

The Philadelphia Phillies have designated four players for assignment in the last 10 days, and none of them have been RHP Dylan Covey, perhaps to the chagrin of the team’s fanbase.

Wednesday afternoon, the Phillies officially announced the signing of RHP Spencer Turnbull to a one-year contract. 60 of Turnbull’s 61 career MLB appearances have come as a starting pitcher, and he may very well pitch out of the rotation at some point for Rob Thomson in 2024. But unless the Phillies open the season with six starters, Turnbull will likely be the first guy out of the Opening Day rotation, with Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Ranger Suárez, Taijaun Walker and Cristopher Sánchez entrenched. That would leave Turnbull as a multi-inning option/long-man to open the regular season.

And, in theory, if Turnbull is going to be the long reliever for the Phillies, that would seem to make Covey expendable. But when it came time to clear a 40-man roster spot for Turnbull, it was RHP McKinley Moore that the Phillies instead designated for assignment.

Acquired in the spring 2022 trade that sent former first-round pick Adam Haseley to the Chicago White Sox, Moore struggled in three MLB appearances for the Phillies a year ago, giving up seven runs. With that said, while injuries limited Moore to just 20 minor league appearances last year, he posted a 1.33 ERA across three levels of the minors. He’s 25 years old, and has two remaining minor-league options.

So why did the Phillies expose Moore to waivers, rather than someone like Covey? It may be as simple as the Phillies believing that Moore will clear waivers, and Covey would have been claimed.

Covey had five outings with the Phillies where he gave up multiple earned runs last year, including allowing five to the Atlanta Braves in a start that lasted just 2/3 of an inning on May 28. In his other 23 outings with the Phillies, Covey gave up only three earned runs. With experience both starting and relieving at the MLB level, it’s entirely possible he would have been claimed by some team if DFA’d. After all, the Phillies acquired Covey when the Los Angeles Dodgers waived him in mid-May.

29 other teams will have a chance to take a flier on Moore, but they also did on two more accomplished players that the Phillies recently waived — RHP Andrew Bellatti and outfielder Símon Muzziotti — both of whom went unclaimed. Bellatti and Muzziotti have now been outrighted to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, and invited to big league camp. Keeping those two, while adding RHPs Michael Rucker and Max Castillo to the 40-man roster, increased organizational depth. If Moore slips through waivers and can be sent to Triple-A without taking up a 40-man roster spot, the Phillies would be better off than if they had DFA’d Covey and ultimately lost him on waivers.

That’s not to say there aren’t legitimate questions about whether Covey is a major leaguer. He has a 6.18 ERA and 5.37 FIP in 307 1/3 career innings at the MLB level. With Turnbull now likely in the bullpen, it’s still fair to wonder if Covey — who has no remaining minor-league options — will ultimately be on the Opening Day roster on March 28. But a lot can happen between now and then, and Covey has managed to see another day in red pinstripes.

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