Philadelphia Phillies sign former Toronto Blue Jays right-hander to major league deal
Photo credit: Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images
The Philadelphia Phillies have signed former Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Zach Pop to major league deal.
It's a bit surprising to see Pop command a big league deal. According to the Associated Press, Pop will make $900K in the majors and $250K in the minors.
Zach Pop signed a split-contract, according to Associated Press
$900,000 in the majors
$250,000 in the minors
Pop would earn the pro-rated portion of his Major League salary for any time spent on the Major League roster.
$900,000 in the majors
$250,000 in the minors
Pop would earn the pro-rated portion of his Major League salary for any time spent on the Major League roster.
He bounced around during the 2025 season. He opened the year with the Blue Jays but was released shortly after Opening Day.
Pop got to the big leagues for four appearances with the Mariners and pitched one time as a member of the Mets.
He allowed 12 runs (11 earned) in just 6 2/3 MLB innings. That pushed his career earned run average to 4.88 over 162 1/3 frames spanning five seasons.
Pop out of minor league options, looking to bounce back in 2026
The Canadian-born righty made 20 appearances in the minors this year. He allowed a 4.19 ERA over 19 1/3 innings.
His underlying numbers were more encouraging. Pop fanned more than a quarter of opponents against a manageable 8.9% walk rate.
He got ground-balls at a massive 75% clip while sitting in the 96-97 MPH range with his sinker.
Zach Pop's Absurd Two Seamer Movement. 😳
Pop has always done a good job keeping the ball down, running a career 55% grounder percentage in the big leagues.
Philadelphia was intrigued enough by the stuff to give Pop one of their two vacant roster spots.
Assuming he remains on the 40-man into Spring Training, he'll get an opportunity to battle for a middle relief job in camp.
Pop has exhausted his minor league option years, so the Phillies cannot send him down without running him through waivers.
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| POLL | ||
JANVIER 5 | 192 ANSWERS Philadelphia Phillies sign former Toronto Blue Jays right-hander to major league deal Do you think Zach Pop will be able to break Phillies camp in 2026? | ||
| Yes | 69 | 35.9 % |
| No | 83 | 43.2 % |
| Too early to tell | 40 | 20.8 % |
| List of polls | ||