Phillies: Jerad Eickhoff rejoins Rangers on MiLB deal
By Matt Rappa
More than five years after the Cole Hamels trade, former Phillies RHP Jerad Eickhoff has returned to the Rangers
Monday at 4 p.m. marks the 2020 Major League Baseball season trade deadline; it is hard to believe, but already five deadlines ago is when the Philadelphia Phillies sent Cole Hamels and Jake Diekman to the Texas Rangers.
One of the prospects the Rangers sent to the Phillies — right-handed pitcher Jerad Eickhoff — has rejoined the American League West organization. On Sunday, Rangers Executive Vice President of Communications John Blake announced the minor-league signing, adding that Eickhoff will report the team’s alternate training site.
Blake describes Eickhoff as a right-handed pitcher with “big-league starting experience,” giving the Rangers “depth,” adding: “Who knows how much depth they will soon need.”
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The 30-year-old Eickhoff appeared in 80 games and 76 starts with the Phillies from 2015-19, combining to go 21-30 with a 4.15 ERA, 396-126 strikeout-to-walk ratio, and 1.280 WHIP across 440 innings. In 2016, Eickhoff threw the eighth-most innings among National League pitchers (197 1/3), while starting in the third-most games (33).
Jerad Eickhoff on his mistakes being clustered together #Phillies pic.twitter.com/5epsI6ssVQ
— Dave Uram (@MrUram) June 11, 2019
Eickhoff went on to appear in just three games and 12 games in 2018 and 2019, respectively, largely due to injury.
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This past January, after he elected free agency from the Phillies, the San Diego Padres signed the right-hander to a minor-league contract with an invitation to spring training. They went on to purchase his contract on August 2, but optioned him to their alternate training site a day later without making an appearance; apparently, he had been released since.
In addition to Eickhoff, the Phillies also acquired veteran Matt Harrison, along with prospects Jorge Alfaro, Alec Asher, Jake Thompson, and Nick Williams, in the July 2015 trade of Hamels and Diekman. Williams had been the last player remaining of the acquisitions, however, he was recently claimed off of waivers by the Cincinnati Reds.