Phillies should give Joey Meneses a 40-man roster spot
The Phillies minor league hero deserves a big league call
On Saturday night the Phillies Triple-A affiliate Lehigh Valley IronPigs were eliminated from the playoffs by Scranton Wilkes-Barre, despite finishing with the best record in the International League going 84-56.
With the IronPigs season done, the Phillies are likely to call up the final three members of the 40-man roster not already in the big leagues: pitchers Drew Anderson, Enyel De Los Santos, and Ranger Suarez.
All three are members of MLB Pipeline’s Top 30 prospects in the organization and each have made at least one major league start this year. They’d be moved to the bullpen for the final three weeks of the Phillies regular season schedule, putting the bullpen at 12 players.
However, the Phillies could technically add one more player to their major league roster, which would sit at 39 players assuming all three pitchers are called back up. The lone roster spot remains because pitcher Aaron Loup has been on the disabled list after pitching four games following a trade deadline move with Toronto.
It would take a corresponding move to the 40-man roster, but Joey Meneses deserves an opportunity these final three weeks.
Signed as a minor league free agent, Meneses was named the International League MVP this year after hitting .311 with 23 home runs and 82 RBI. He spent seven seasons in the minor leagues for Atlanta, ironically the team Philadelphia is chasing in the playoff race, prior to playing his eighth in Lehigh Valley.
There are a couple options for the Phillies if they want to add anyone to the 40-man roster to provide help on the major league bench or bullpen.
The first depends on the health of Aaron Loup, who hasn’t pitched since August 15. If Loup isn’t coming back this season from a forearm strain, he could be placed on the 60-day disabled list.
Gabe Kapler said on August 22 that Loup wouldn’t throw for another two weeks, which would have been last Wednesday.
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Another move would require the Phillies to designate someone for assignment to clear room for Meneses. The most obvious name, in my opinion, is Mitch Walding, another career minor leaguer who hasn’t produced in any way in 10 major league games.
Walding is 0-14 with two walks in 16 plate appearances this year, and if the organization really wants him around, he’s unlikely to be claimed on waivers if DFA’d.
Yacksel Rios is another option after giving up an earned run in five of his last nine major league appearances. However, I think the organization still sees some value in the 25-year-old, and I think they want as many pitchers as possible for this final stretch of games.
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Having Meneses on the major league team would be a great story, and it’s one the organization could use as they go into a tough final stretch of games. Keep an eye on the 40-man roster situation as the season goes on.