Chase Anderson, Matt Moore intriguing Phillies rotation adds

Looking at Matt Moore’s career journey to now with the Phillies.

Left-handed starting pitcher Matt Moore‘s major-league journey began with the Tampa Bay Rays, where his best success came in his second full season. In 2013, Moore made a trip to the All-Star Game and finished ninth in Cy Young voting — posting a 17-4 record, 3.29 ERA and 1.297 WHIP through 27 starts.

Moore gave up three runs through 10 innings to start off 2014, before being sidelined with a torn UCL that ended his season and led to Tommy John surgery. He returned to action in July 2015 — recording an 8.78 ERA in six starts — before being sent to the minors. He returned in September with a much-improved 2.97 ERA in another six starts.

Moore’s career began to resemble a journeyman afterward — being traded from the Rays to the San Francisco Giants in 2016. He stayed with them through 2017, before he was dealt once more to the Texas Rangers for 2018. Moore’s performance took a tumble during that time — from a 13-12 record and 4.08 ERA in 2016, to a 6-15 record and 5.52 ERA in 2017. In 2018, he posted a 3-8 record and 6.79 ERA.

For the 2019 season, Moore signed with the Detroit Tigers, where he experienced some déjà vu. His 2014 season ended after two games and 10 innings, with his second game coming against the Kansas City Royals in early April. In 2019, his season also ended after two games and 10 innings due to a knee injury.

Moore returned to action in 2020, going overseas to play in Japan, where he posted a 6-3 record, 2.65 ERA and 1.118 WHIP in 15 games with the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks. His 85 innings pitched were more than any MLB pitcher last year.