Philadelphia Phillies make further changes to pitching team after recent blunder

The Philadelphia Phillies must be in high spirits heading into Wednesday’s game after overcoming a big early deficit against the Toronto Blue Jays and then staging an incredible comeback to win late in the game.

Driven by Kyle Schwarber’s historic night, the offense seems to be gaining momentum again.

However, the same cannot be said for the Phillies’ entire pitching staff.

With Taijuan Walker finally moved to the bullpen after his long struggles this season, Philadelphia needed to find another option for the fifth starter in their rotation. They turned to Tyler Phillips, who was very good early in his first major league outing but completely fell off toward the end.

They hoped that time in the minor leagues would help him get back to form.

Well, that didn’t work out, as Phillips conceded six runs in the first inning before being taken out of the game without even getting out of the game.

The Phillies bullpen has done an incredible job of keeping the Phillies in the game and allowing the offense to come back, but this was just the latest example of the problems they face at the end of their rotation.

Philadelphia continues to search for answers and has made some roster changes ahead of Wednesday’s game to find them.

According to the announcement, Phillips was sent back to Triple-A, so the Phillies have a real chance to put Walker back in the starting lineup to try and get innings to finish the year.

Maybe at some point they’ll give that role to Kolby Allard, who has pitched well at times, but he won’t be eligible to rejoin the team until September 10.

The direct opponent is Nick Nelson, who will likely replace Walker’s move from the bullpen.

The 28-year-old has played four games this season in his third year with Philadelphia. They signed him ahead of the 2022 season where he was a much more important factor with 47 appearances, but he has only played a total of four games over the past two seasons.

Michael Rucker’s DFA is interesting considering the Phillies got him in a trade with the Chicago Cubs in February and thought he could have been part of their relief staff all year.

Unfortunately, he suffered from an arterial vasospasm in his right hand that kept him out of action until late July. He has appeared in 19 Triple-A games this season and has a 7.04 ERA, so it looks like he is not ready to face major league hitters.

So as Philadelphia tries to get through the final month of the year, it is once again tinkering with its pitching staff and looking for someone who can productively fill the fifth rotation spot.