Phillies: 5 candidates for the September expanded roster

Cristopher Sánchez, Phillies LHP

Left-handed pitcher Cristopher Sánchez made his major league debut this season, where he struggled in five games with the Phillies. The southpaw, who is currently ranking as the franchise’s 22nd overall prospect, gave up eight runs (seven earned) off of 13 hits and five walks in 7 2/3 innings.

He looked good in his first appearance, giving up just one hit, while striking out two, in 1 1/3 innings against the Washington Nationals in early June. He returned to the majors for the last game before the All-Star break, giving up a run in three innings but picking up the win.

Sánchez then struggled in three games after the break, most recently in a re-match with the Nationals, where he gave up four runs while recording just one out, as a bullpen game starter. He was sent back to Triple-A after that, where he’s having a decent season.

Sánchez has a 4.04 ERA and 1.346 WHIP in 12 games (11 starts) for Lehigh Valley this year. He looked good in his most recent start, striking out six in four innings of one-hit baseball against the Buffalo Bisons, a team that scored four runs against him in late June.

The southpaw’s minor league numbers are more impressive considering he had just one game higher than the Advanced-A level entering this year and did not see any major league action last year when the minor league season was canceled. The expanded roster would be a good time to give him another chance on the Phillies.

David Paulino, Phillies RHP

Unlike the other players mentioned in this piece, right-handed pitcher David Paulino is not currently on the 40-man roster, though he does have previous MLB experience.

Paulino has a 4.35 ERA, 1.374 WHIP, and 58 strikeouts in 25 games (three starts) with Triple-A Lehigh Valley so far this season. His 51 2/3 innings pitched are his most in a single calendar year since 2016, when he pitched 97 innings between the Houston Astros and its minor league affiliates.

The Astros called up Paulino in spring 2017 to serve as a starter. His first extended major league experience didn’t go so well, giving up 21 runs in 29 innings before being suspended 80 games for a PED violation and having surgery to remove a bone spur from his elbow that October.

Paulino was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays as part of the Roberto Osuna deal at the 2018 deadline, where he pitched better as a reliever during a September call-up. He gave up just two runs (one earned) in 6 2/3 innings, through seven games. He pitched to a 3.45 ERA in seven Triple-A starts in 2019 before being released by the Jays, signing as a free agent with the Phillies this past off-season.

Paulino’s past major league experience and decent minor league stats, despite pitching his most innings in years, makes him an intriguing option to give another chance in the majors. With expanded rosters, September would be a good time to promote him to the 40-man roster and give him an opportunity in a low-leverage situation.