Young Philadelphia Phillies reliever Orion Kerkering will return from the IL on Sunday. Kerkering began his official rookie campaign on the injured list with what the team described as a right forearm strain. Ahead of returning from the injured list, Kerkering made four rehab appearances. The corresponding move to make room for him on the Phillies 26-man roster is that Nick Nelson will be optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
Phillies will option Nick Nelson to Triple A to clear a spot for Orion Kerkering, who will be active tomorrow.
— Matt Gelb (@MattGelb) April 13, 2024
Orion Kerkering Set to Return from IL
Once the Phillies make the transaction official, Nelson will be out of minor league options. This means if Nelson is recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley later on, he will either have to remain on the Phillies roster or be designated for assignment to clear a 26-man roster spot. Nelson will be one of four pitchers who are currently on the Phillies’ 40-man roster at Triple-A. The other three, Kolby Allard, Max Castillo, and Michael Mercado, have minor league options remaining.
Kerkering missed most of spring training dealing with the flu. Last season in three major league appearances, Kerkering had a 1-0 record with a 3.00 ERA and a 162 ERA+ with six strikeouts. During the postseason last year, he had a 3.38 ERA and five strikeouts with a -5.8% cWPA. In two spring training appearances this season, Kerkering recorded two strikeouts along with a 0.500 WHIP and did not allow an earned run.
The return of Kerkering gives Phillies manager Rob Thomson another option to close out a game. So far 15 games in this season, José Alvarado, Jeff Hoffman, Gregory Soto, and Ricardo Pinto have recorded saves. Alvarado has two saves while the other three have one save each. Thomson has been using a closer-by-committee system so far this season. That is not currently expected to change, even with Kerkering returning to the bullpen.
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