The Phillies signed veteran right-handed pitcher Walker Buehler to a minor league contract.
President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski announced the move prior to Sunday night’s game against the Braves.
The plan is for Buehler to start for Triple-A Lehigh Valley next Saturday before starting for the Phillies on September 12 against the Royals, at which point the Phillies will go to a six-man rotation.
The Phillies had planned to go to a six-man rotation in mid-August to give their starters extra rest. But the team abandoned that plan following Zack Wheeler’s season-ending injury.
“We’re very excited to have him,” Dombrowski said of Buehler. “We think he makes us better.”
Dombrowski was asked what specifically he likes about Buehler.
“A lot of things,” he said. “He’s been a very successful major league pitcher, he still has a good arm, has a variety of pitches at this point. This year hasn’t been as good for him as other years but we still like a lot of his stuff. We think we see some things that can hopefully help him.”
The 31-year old Buehler was released by the Red Sox on Friday after posting a 5.45 ERA in 22 starts and one relief appearance this season.
“He’s willing to work with us,” Dombrowski said. “We have a very good pitching coach in Caleb (Cotham). We spent some time on a zoom visit with him going over those things (that he can improve).
“You don’t have to worry about him being concerned about any type of anxiety in pitching in a postseason game if we get to that point.”
Signing Buehler before September 1 means he will be eligible for the postseason roster. He has vast postseason experience, sporting a 3.04 ERA in 19 career postseason games, including 18 starts. He recorded the final out of the 2024 World Series for the Dodgers.
This is a low-risk, potentially high-reward move that will cost the Phillies less than $1 million for the rest of the season.
Buehler signed a one-year deal worth more than $21 million with Boston prior to the 2025 season after spending the first seven years of his career with the Dodgers.
Buehler was one of the best starting pitchers in baseball earlier in his career. He was selected to the National League All-Star team in 2019 and 2021, finishing in the Top 10 of the Cy Young voting each of those seasons.
Phillies announce Tim Mayza signing
It was a busy Sunday for the Phillies front office. The club claimed left-handed reliever Tim Mayza off waivers. To make room for Mayza on the 40-man roster, the Phillies transferred Wheeler to the 60-day injured list.
Mayza will be added to the Phillies active roster on Monday when MLB rosters expand to 28 players.
“In the Mayza case, a couple things happen,” Dombrowski said. “One is that (Jose) Alvarado cannot pitch in the postseason. If (Mayza) pitches as we anticipate, he’s in a position where it could give us three left-handers in the bullpen.”
Mayza would potentially join Matt Strahm and Tanner Banks as the three left-handers in the Phillies’ postseason bullpen.
“In the past we talked about moving one of our starters (to the bullpen in the postseason),” Dombrowski said. “But without having Wheeler, I’m not sure how that’s going to mesh. So we have the potential to use the three left-handed starters (Cristopher Sanchez, Ranger Suarez and Jesus Luzardo) in addition to (Aaron Nola) being our big four (in the postseason). That’s all just looking ahead, I don’t what’s going to happen in that regard.”
The 33-year old Mayza posted a 2.89 ERA in seven appearances for the Pirates this season. He went on the injured list in mid-April with a lat strain and has not pitched in the big leagues since.
Mayza had a 1.93 ERA in four rehab appearances before Pittsburgh placed him on waivers Sunday morning.
Mayza has a 3.85 career ERA in eight MLB seasons. He’s an Allentown native who attended Upper Perkomien High School and Millersville University.
The return of Garrett Stubbs
Dombrowski announced that Garrett Stubbs will also join the Phillies roster on Monday. The Phillies want to add a third catcher to give Rob Thomson the flexibility to use J.T. Realmuto as a pinch hitter in games that Rafael Marchan starts.
The 32-year old Stubbs hit .265 with eight home runs, 50 RBI and a .754 OPS in 71 games in Triple-A this season.
Stubbs was Realmuto’s backup catcher from 2022 through 2024. He has a .222 batting average with a .628 OPS in 141 career games with the Phillies.
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