Phillies sign former Cardinals lefty reliever to minors deal

Rob Kaminsky grew up in North Jersey, just one state removed from Pennsylvania where the Philadelphia Phillies have called home for nearly 140 seasons.

Eight years ago, the St. Louis Cardinals drafted the left-handed reliever out of high school in the first round, 28th overall, in the 2013 MLB amateur draft.

Phillies expand pitching depth by signing former Cardinals LHP Rob Kaminsky.

A little more than two years later, the Cardinals traded Kaminsky to the Cleveland Indians for former Phillies outfielder Brandon Moss, before signing him back to their organization in December 2019.

Finally, in mid-August of last season, the now-26-year-old made his Major League debut. Through five appearances and three games finished, Kaminsky posted a 1.93 ERA, 1.071 WHIP, and 3-2 strikeouts-to-walks ratio across 4 2/3 innings. He did not allow a single home run through 21 batters faced.

The Cardinals surprisingly decided to part ways with Kaminsky late last season — first designating him for assignment and later outrighting him to their alternate training site. In November, Kaminsky elected free agency.

Fast-forward to late April 2021, and the left-hander is now a member of the Phillies organization. According to the transactions page on MLB.com, the Phillies signed Kaminsky to a minor-league contract on Sunday. It is assumed that he will now report to the Phillies alternate training site in Lehigh Valley.

It is never a bad thing to add left-handed depth. The Phillies recently lost two of their left-handers to the COVID-19 injured list in starter Matt Moore and reliever Jose Alvarado. And, with JoJo Romero struggling early on — allowing six hits, five runs (all earned), three home runs, and one walk through three innings pitched and 17 batters faced — perhaps President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski felt the pressure to bring aboard Kaminsky.

Kaminsky showed promise at the Double-A and Triple-A level with the Indians in 2019, too, going 3-1 with a 3.54 ERA and 1.250 WHIP spanning 42 appearances, 13 games finished and 56 innings.

It is not clear exactly why the Cardinals parted ways with Kaminsky, but perhaps the Phillies will be the team that keeps his career going in the right direction.