After dropping two out of three games to the Mets this week, the Phillies are shaking up their bullpen by optioning right-hander reliever Connor Brogdon and southpaw Damon Jones to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Both relievers have struggled thus far in a handful of appearances each, and with the team in the midst of a two week stretch with no off days, they’ll bring in a pair of fresh arms. Recently acquired righty James Norwood will be activated off of the bereavement list, with the other corresponding move yet to be announced.
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Brogdon was one of the few bright spots in a monumentally bad Phillies bullpen over the past two years, logging 69 innings of 3.52 ERA work across 2020 and 2021. He looked set to be a fixture in the pen this season, but his spring training got off to a bad start when his velocity dipped noticeably. Hopefully, a week or two of regular action with the Iron Pigs will get the reliever back to his old form.
The 27-year-old Jones made his big league debut last season, walking two and surrendering one hit against the Dodgers, while only recording one out. He hasn’t fared much better in 2022, yielding four earned runs over 2.2 innings pitched. With four other lefties in the bullpen at the moment, Jones was deemed superfluous, and he’ll likely shuffle back and forth between Triple-A and the big leagues as relievers often do.
Right-hander James Norwood will be activated off of the bereavement list in a corresponding move. The 28-year-old has seen sparse big league action with the Cubs and Padres over the past four seasons, but has performed well when given a chance. Seeing as how marquee additions Corey Knebel, Jeurys Familia, and Brad Hand have yet to surrender a run so far, Norwood will likely only take the field in low-leverage situations.
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