Phillies news and rumors 3/27: Nick Maton DFA’d after unsightly spring with Orioles

A former Phillies clubhouse and fan favorite fell subject to the crunching of MLB rosters ahead of Thursday’s Opening Day: Nick Maton was designated for assignment by the Baltimore Orioles, exactly 50 days after learning the same fate by the Detroit Tigers.

Maton’s was the corresponding move to Baltimore’s signing of Tony Kemp, and it comes on the heels of an unsightly spring that saw him go 0-for-23 with 10 strikeouts. He’d been traded to the Orioles on Feb. 5 after his Detroit DFA, which followed a .173/.288/.305 slash across 93 games in his lone year as a Tiger.

Maton hit .254/.330/.434 across two seasons (86 games) with the Phillies, becoming a popular figure in the clubhouse particularly during the club’s postseason run. He, Matt Vierling and Donny Sands were the package that netted the Phillies Gregory Soto and Kody Clemens before last season.

Maybe that moderate success offensively, plus his positional versatility, will garner some trade or waiver interest for Maton in a bench role. The tough 2023 season and tougher 2024 spring, though, could cause him to clear waivers and stick around with the Orioles in a minor-league capacity. Whatever his fate, we’ll find out in the coming days.

Must-read (or watch) Phillies content

• However strong the links actually were, a rumored Phillies target came off the board last night. Destiny Lugardo has more.
• In case you missed Grace Del Pizzo’s Tiny Mic series from Phillies Spring Training — or in case you just want to watch it all again for fun (we don’t blame you) — here’s all of them in one place.
• Johan Rojas will be the Opening Day center fielder. As Bailey Digh writes, Dave Dombrowski sounds confident it’s the right call.

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