Apr 30, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Carlos Hernandez (35) and catcher J.T. Realmuto (10) congratulate each other after a victory against the Washington Nationals at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Bill Streicher
When the Phillies activate Ranger Suárez off of the injured list Sunday, it will lead to their first roster crunch of the 2025 season. Someone that's in the bullpen for Saturday's game against the Arizona Diamondbacks won't be at Citizens Bank Park for the series finale Sunday.
For much of the first month of the season, it appeared that the likely odd man out would be Carlos Hernández, who has displayed inconsistent control since Phillies claimed him off of waivers from the Kansas City Royals shortly before Opening Day.
However, with a repertoire that includes a 97 mph fastball, Hernández probably has one of the higher upsides of anyone in a bullpen that's struggled early on in 2025. While Hernández's 6.55 ERA isn't good, it was hard not to take notice of what Rob Thomson had to say about the 6-foot-4 righty after he pitched a scoreless inning to finish off a 7-2 win Wednesday.
“He’s really coming along," Thomson said. "He’s got really good aptitude. I think that our pitching coaches are doing a great job with him as far as understanding how to attack hitters, and he’s applying it.”
If the Phillies would like to keep working with Hernández, they'll need to find someone else to either option or designate for assignment. Hernández is out of minor-league options, and there's a real chance he would be claimed by another team if the Phillies DFA'd him.
Let's assume that Taijuan Walker isn't going anywhere. Whether Thursday is his last start for a while or the Phillies use a six-man rotation, Walker is in the third season of a four-year/$72 million deal. He's shown enough of a bounce back thus far to keep around. Maybe a trade partner could emerge, but for the sake of this exercise, assume Walker's start Thursday won't be his last appearance with the Phillies.
José Ruiz is also out of minor-league options. Despite his 4.76 ERA over the first 12 appearances of 2025, Ruiz is unlikely to be DFA'd. He had some nice stretches last year, and Thomson is particularly fond of the righty.
Rob Thomson discusses the tough roster decision looming when Ranger Suárez is activated Sunday.
(Via @TimKellySports) pic.twitter.com/TNExx7mWlK
The Phillies only have two relievers in their bullpen that currently have remaining minor-league options — Tanner Banks and Orion Kerkering.
They could use Banks' final option in the name of trying to preserve organizational depth, but he struck out four over 1 2/3 scoreless innings Wednesday. The third lefty in the bullpen for the Phillies has a 3.38 ERA over 12 games.
A couple weeks ago, Kerkering appeared to be one of the three relievers that Thomson could really trust, along with José Alvarado and Matt Strahm. But Kerkering has given up six earned runs over his last five appearances, including a pair of homers. Mind you, this is someone who gave up only two home runs over his first 66 MLB innings.
Kerkering has three minor-league options left, so he could be sent to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. But this is someone who the Phillies entered the year expecting to be a key cog in their bullpen both in 2025 and beyond. It would be a pretty drastic step to option him, even if it was only for a short period and he was given clear directives on what to focus on with the IronPigs. Not much has seemed to phase the 24-year-old since he was called up late in 2023, but the Phillies would have to consider how being sent down might affect Kerkering's confidence if they thought about going that route.
When you try to sort through things, DFA'ing Hernández and hoping he clears waivers might still be the most likely scenario when Suárez returns on Sunday. But it's fair to say that how a few of these arms perform over the next three games could change that.
"Yeah, those are always tough decisions," Thomson said Thursday afternoon. "But, we'll figure it out."
