Phillies designate Aaron Altherr for assignment to activate Odubel Herrera, likely ending Altherr’s career with team
The Phillies had to remove Altherr from the 40-man roster because they could no longer option him to the minor leagues. It is unlikely that he will clear waivers before the Phillies can place him in triple A.
Aaron Altherr’s Phillies career likely ended on Saturday afternoon when the team designated the outfielder for assignment to make room for Odubel Herrera, who returned from the injured list.
The Phillies had to remove Altherr from the 40-man roster because they could no longer option him to the minor leagues. It is unlikely that he will clear waivers before the Phillies can place him in triple A.
“We wish Aaron well and believe this is what’s best for him and, obviously, the Phillies,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “We think he can still be a productive player, just the situation here with us it was very difficult for him to even get on the field even to the point of having difficulty finding him pinch-hit at-bats.”
Altherr had just one hit in 29 at-bats this season and was hitless in his last 25 chances. His slow start followed a season where Altherr batted just .181 with a .628 OPS in 105 games. Playing time was hard to find after the Phillies added Andrew McCutchen and Bryce Harper. It became even challenging when Phil Gosselin and Sean Rodriguez have found better success than Altherr off the bench.
“We just couldn’t get Aaron going,” Kapler said. “Let’s just say it was difficult to find him reps and the other guys were doing a really good job. It’s as simple as that.”
Herrera did not start Saturday against Nationals left-hander Patrick Corbin, but he is expected to resume the everyday role he had in center before injuring his hamstring.
“It felt like not the softest landing spot for Odubel,” Kapler said. “You haven’t been in game action for a while and we’re going to throw you out there against last year’s best left-handed pitcher with a nasty slider. It just didn’t feel like the right recipe to start him off on the right foot and as we all know the game is not five or six innings long, it’s nine and sometimes more. So there might be a big at-bat against a right-hander pitcher that Odubel gets later in game.”
Extra bases
Scott Kingery (hamstring strain) ran before Saturday’s game and Victor Arano (elbow inflammation) completed 30 throws at a short distance. Kapler said both were positive signs. ... Zach Eflin will start Sunday’s series finale against Nationals right-hander Anibal Sanchez. The game will start at 2:05 p.m. because of the Broad Street Run.