Phillies Claim Robert Stock, Part Ways with Pat Neshek
By Matt Rappa
The Phillies added and subtracted right-handed relievers on Thursday, marking their first official player moves of the offseason.
Hiring Bryan Price as pitching coach was not the only move the Philadelphia Phillies made on the first day of the Major League Baseball offseason.
The club also made two moves involving right-handed relief pitchers on Thursday, claiming Robert Stock from the San Diego Padres, while declining Pat Neshek‘s $7 million club option for 2020, according to The Inquirer’s Matt Breen and MLB Network’s Jon Heyman, respectively.
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Stock, 29, appeared in just 10 games this past season due to finishing on the 60-day injured list with strained right biceps. Over 10 2/3 innings, Stock allowed 14 hits, 14 runs (12 earned), two home runs and eight walks, while striking out 15 of his 56 batters faced.
During his rookie season in 2018 with the Padres, Stock posted a 1-1 record, 2.50 ERA, 38-13 strikeout-to-walk ratio, and 1.261 WHIP spanning 32 relief appearances, six of which he finished the game.
Stock “throws a four-seam fastball, slider and changeup,” and his fastball averaged 97.9 miles per hour last season, according to MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki.
Like Stock, the 39-year-old Neshek experienced injury woes (shoulder and hamstring) that significantly limited his playing time in 2019. The sidearmer appeared in 20 games with the Phillies in 2019, but allowed 23 hits, 11 runs (10 earned), five home runs and two walks over 18 innings; he struck out nine of his 79 batters faced.
In total, spanning 93 appearances with the Phillies in the first half of 2017, and all of the past two seasons, Neshek went 6-5 with a 2.40 ERA and 1.040 WHIP spanning 82 2/3 innings.
In addition to Neshek, Breen writes that fellow right-handed relievers Tommy Hunter and Juan Nicasio are soon likely also headed for free agency, adding:
"David Robertson is expected to miss the entire season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Adam Morgan, Victor Arano, and Seranthony Dominquez ended the season on the injured list. There is heavy lifting to be done as the Phillies shape their bullpen for 2020. The addition of Stock was a start."
With the World Series being concluded, the offseason is now well underway. The additions of Stock and Price, as well as the subtraction of Neshek, on Thursday are the beginning of many moves the team will make while looking ahead to 2020.