Phillies make a series of roster moves as MLB free agency begins originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Monday was an important day on the MLB calendar.
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Free agency opened at 6 p.m.
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It was the last day for teams and players to decide whether they would exercise their contract options.
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And it was the deadline for teams to submit one-year qualifying offers to their eligible players.
The Phillies cleared five spots on their 40-man roster by moving on to right-handers Yunior Marte, Luis Ortiz and Freddy Tarnok, left-hander Kolby Allard and infielder Rodolfo Castro.
All five players cleared waivers and became free agents. Allard would have been eligible for arbitration.
The Phillies filled three of those spots with right-handed pitchers in separate transactions. They acquired Devin Sweet from the Tigers in a cash deal, claimed John McMillon off waivers from the Marlins and selected Alan Rangel’s contract.
Sweet, 28, struck out 111 in 76 innings last season for the Tigers’ Triple-A affiliate. He had seven games in the major leagues with the Mariners and Athletics in 2023.
McMillon, 26, has had some major league success in a small sample size and low-pressure role with a 1.69 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 16 innings in 2023 (Kansas City) and 2024 (Miami).
The Phillies signed Rangel, 27, to a minor league contract last July and he appeared in 10 games for Lehigh Valley, starting five. He had high strikeout totals but high ERAs through the Braves system in the previous three years, but also high ERAs.
The Phils’ 40-man roster is 37 players. Any major league players they acquire via trade or sign guaranteed deals in free agency will have to be added, as will prospects the team is looking to protect from the Rule 5 draft.
Two pitchers in particular, Mick Abel and Moisés Chace, are almost certain to add to the 40 this month. Abel hasn’t progressed as the Phillies hoped and desperately needs to throw more strikes, but they’re not giving up their 2020 first-round pick. Chace was acquired at the trade deadline from Baltimore for Gregory Soto and struck out 124 batters in 80⅓ innings in Single A and Double A last season.
The deadline for teams to protect eligible Rule 5 draft prospects is Nov. 19.