Phillies promote Victor Arano, Henderson Alvarez to major-leagues
By John Town
The Phillies promoted pitchers Victor Arano and Henderson Alvarez to the majors and made a series of other roster moves Tuesday.
With just 19 games left this season, the Phillies continue to bolster their pitching staff to try and ease their staff into the offseason. To reach that end, they promoted pitchers Victor Arano and Henderson Alvarez from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to the majors.
Alvarez and Arano were on the IronPigs’ playoff roster, but they were defeated by the Scranton RailRiders in the International League semifinals.
In addition, the team claimed left-handed reliever Zac Curtis off waivers from the Mariners Monday. He and Arano will help bolster the bullpen while Alvarez could make a few starts down the stretch.
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The team also activated catcher Andrew Knapp from the disabled list, who had been out since Aug. 4 with a bruised right hand sustained when he was hit by a pitch. He will have to jockey for playing time down the stretch with Jorge Alfaro and Cameron Rupp. Before being injured, Knapp had a .735 OPS, three home runs, and 12 RBI in 51 games.
Meanwhile, Zach Eflin was moved to the 60-day disabled list.
He went on the DL Aug. 22 with a shoulder strain. Eflin has now been put on the shelf due to injury before the season ended for two straight seasons now.
Alvarez was pitching for the Long Island Ducks in the independent Atlantic League before Philadelphia signed him to a minor-league contract Aug. 22. He made three starts for a depleted Lehigh Valley rotation, allowing six earned runs in 19 innings.
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Alvarez has 92 career major-league starts under his belt over five seasons with the Blue Jays and Marlins. He has a career 3.80 ERA, five complete game shutouts – three of which came in an All-Star 2014 season – and a 1.288 WHIP.
Arano spent all year in Double-A before joining Lehigh Valley’s bullpen in the playoffs. He missed the start of the season with an elbow injury, but came back to make 32 appearances in Reading. Arano posted a 4.19 ERA, 3.45 strikeout-to-walk ratio, a 1.293 WHIP, and recorded nine saves.
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Curtis spent most of the year in Double-A as well, finishing the season with a 3.51 ERA in 41 appearances. He also made three appearances in the majors for the Mariners, giving up three unearned runs June 16 against the Rangers.