Phillies claim hard-throwing veteran reliever on waivers, DFA Tyler Phillips

The Phillies announced Sunday afternoon that they've claimed reliever Carlos Hernández off of waivers from the Kansas City Royals, and designated Tyler Phillips for assignment to clear a spot on the 40-man roster.

Hernández, 28, has a 4.95 ERA across 150 appearances for the Royals over the last five seasons. However, he was pretty effective across 27 games last year, pitching to a 3.30 ERA. He used his fastball — a pitch that averaged 97.9 mph in 2024 — 54% of the time. His repertoire also includes a slider, splitter and knuckle curve. 

Carlos Hernández 💯💯 pic.twitter.com/uQuLvJ0B9m

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) July 30, 2023

With Ranger Suárez set to open the season on the injured list and Taijuan Walker needed in the starting rotation, it would appear that Hernández is going to begin 2025 with the Phillies as the last reliever in their bullpen. This is even if Matt Strahm (shoulder) is on the roster to begin the season.

Hernández is out of minor-league options, so the Phillies would have to designate him for assignment if he doesn't make the Opening Day roster or is the odd-man-out at some point this season. But if Hernández clicks with the Phillies, he can't become a free agent until after the 2027 season. 

Meanwhile, Phillips was out of minor-league options himself. It's entirely possible that the 27-year-old clears waivers, at which point the Phillies would be able to outright him to Triple-A Lehigh Valley and keep him in the organization as starting pitching depth. But all 29 other teams would have to first pass on the opportunity to add him to their 40-man roster. 

Phillips — a graduate of Bishop Eustace Preparatory School — was a great story early on in his time with the Phillies last year. A lifelong Phillies fan, Phillips posted a 1.80 ERA across his first 25 innings in the majors, peaking with a complete-game shutout against the Cleveland Guardians on July 27. However, he cratered from there, allowing 23 earned runs over 11 2/3 innings (17.74 ERA) in what proved to be his final four starts of the year with the Phillies. 

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