Philadelphia Phillies designate former Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher for assignment
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The Philadelphia Phillies have designated former Toronto Blue Jays left-handed relief pitcher Josh Walker for assignment.
Walker was designated for assignment to make room for José Alvarado, who has since has been reinstated after serving his 80-game PED suspension.
The Phillies returned LHP José Alvarado from his rehab assignment with Lehigh Valley (AAA) & reinstated him from the restricted list. To make room on the 26-man roster, RHP Nolan Hoffman was optioned to LHV & to make room on the 40-man roster, LHP Josh Walker has been DFA'd.
Walker, 30, was acquired from the Blue Jays in exchange for cash back in May.
He pitched five innings with Toronto but hasn't appeared in the majors with Philadelphia.
Rather, he's spent his entire time with the Phillies organization in Triple-A Lehigh Valley, where he's logged 26 innings with a 4.50 ERA, 19.8% strikeout rate and 10.8% walk rate.
A towering 6'6″ left-hander, Walker has appeared in parts of three big league seasons, two with the Mets and earlier this year with the Blue Jays.
He's pitched only 27 1/3 MLB frames, however, and sports a rocky 6.59 ERA in that limited sample of work.
He's fanned nearly one quarter of his opponents and has a sharp 12.4% swinging-strike rate, but command has been a struggle for him both in the majors and in the upper minors.
That said, Walker does have a more palatable 4.46 ERA and 26% strikeout rate in 167 2/3 innings of Triple-A work.
Alvarado has been out since May 16 after receiving an 80-game ban following a positive PED test.
His absence subtracted one of the Phillies' top relief arms, and he'll return to a new-look bullpen that suddenly looks like a powerhouse.
In Alvarado's absence, the Phillies acquired Jhoan Duran from the Twins and signed free agent David Robertson.
That pair, combined with Matt Strahm, Orion Kerkering, Tanner Banks and the returning Alvarado, makes the Phillies' relief corps both exceptionally deep and dangerous for opposing lineups.
| POLL | ||
AOUT 19 | 93 ANSWERS Philadelphia Phillies designate former Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher for assignment Will former Blue Jays lefty Josh Walker get claimed off waivers or become a free agent? | ||
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