Phillies Activate Connor Brogdon, JoJo Romero
The Phillies received a pair of bullpen reinforcements on Friday, activating right-hander Connor Brogdon and southpaw JoJo Romero from the Injured List. To make room, infielder Will Toffey was outrighted off the 40-man roster, swingman Cristopher Sánchez was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, and right-hander Hans Crouse was promoted to the majors and placed on the 60-day IL.
Brogdon provides an immediate boost to a mercurial Phillies’ relief corps. The 27-year-old has been excellent when healthy this season, piling up 17.2 innings of 2.04 ERA ball, while punching out 21 batters. He’ll likely slide back into a high-leverage role in place of the blow-up-prone Jeurys Familia.
Romero has struggled over 19.2 big league innings this far in his career, posting a 7.32 ERA and 1.58 WHIP. However, the 25-year-old has been excellent in 11.2 rehab innings, posting a 1.54 ERA while striking out 15. Romero affords Interim Manager Rob Thomson another lefty option to go with the rock solid Brad Hand.
As for the other players affected by this series of moves, Will Toffey is the biggest loser. The 27-year-old was acquired this past March from the Giants in exchange for infielder Luke Williams, and has yet to make his major league debut. Toffey cleared waivers and was assigned to Lehigh Valley, and he’ll serve as organizational depth.
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Cristopher Sánchez has been decent as a longman so far this season, putting up a 3.80 ERA across 23.2 innings. He’ll keep stretching out in Lehigh while awaiting another opportunity to spot start for the parent club.
The surprising winner here is young pitcher Hans Crouse. The 23-year-old was acquired at last year’s trade deadline from the Rangers alongside Kyle Gibson and Ian Kennedy in exchange for a trio of prospects. He struggled in two major league appearances last September, surrendering four hits and seven walks in only 7.0 innings. He’s been on the Injured List in the minors since April with right biceps tendinitis. The shift from the minor league IL to the 60-day major league IL will provide Crouse with big league pay and service time while he recovers.