Former Phillies we could see in 2022 interleague play

Oakland Athletics – Cole Irvin and Deolis Guerra

The Phillies are scheduled to host the Oakland Athletics from April 8 to 10, in their home-opening series, where they could reunite with Cole Irvin and Deolis Guerra.

Left-handed pitcher Irvin was drafted by the Phillies in 2016 and made an impressive major league debut on Mother’s Day in 2019 when he started for Philadelphia at the Kansas City Royals. He gave up one run off of five hits and a walk, while striking out five, in seven innings.

Irvin gave up four runs (three earned) in six innings during his second start, at home to the Colorado Rockies. He was credited with the win in his first two outings but struggled in a loss to the Chicago Cubs in his third start before being sent back to the minors.

After three more call-ups prior to September, he showed improvement during the final month of the season. He gave up just one run while striking out seven, in his last 12 1/3 innings of 2019, across eight games. The southpaw was largely limited to the practice squad in 2020, where he gave up seven runs in 3 2/3 innings, across only three major league appearances.

Irvin was traded to the Athletics for cash considerations prior to the 2021 season, on the day before his January 31 birthday. He posted a farewell message to Phillies fans on social media, where he mentioned that he wore a Phillies uniform when he was in little league and thanked fans for their “passion, loyalty, and will to win.”

Irvin posted a 10-15 record, 4.24 ERA, and 1.329 WHIP in 32 starts for the Athletics last season.

Another former Phillie now on the A’s is right-handed reliever Guerra, who Philadelphia selected off waivers from the Milwaukee Brewers prior to the 2020 season.

Guerra pitched entirely in the first half of the shortened campaign, giving up nine runs (seven earned) in 7 1/3 innings, across nine games. He was designated for assignment after that stretch and remained at the alternate training site.

He was a non-roster invitee for the Athletics in 2021, where he posted a 4-1 record, 4.11 ERA, and 1.112 WHIP in 53 regular-season games. He agreed to a one-year deal with the team prior to the lockout.

Texas Rangers – Spencer Howard

The Phillies are scheduled to host the Texas Rangers on May 3 and 4, before visiting the team on June 21 and 22. They could reunite with one of the central pieces of their most recent deadline deal, right-handed starting pitcher Spencer Howard.

Howard was drafted by the Phillies in the second round of the 2017 MLB Draft. He was ranked as the team’s fifth-best prospect by MLB.com for 2019, where he had a 2.03 ERA in 15 starts between High-A, Double-A, and rookie ball while recording 94 strikeouts in his 71 innings.

Howard was ranked as the Phillies’ top prospect in 2020 when the minor league season was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. With no experience higher than Double-A, he made his major league debut in the second game of a doubleheader, giving up four runs in 4 2/3 innings. He had a 5.92 ERA in six starts overall in 2020.

The right-hander began 2021 in and out of the major leagues, where he made seven starts and four relief appearances through the first half of the season. He had an 0-2 record, 5.72 ERA, and 1.482 WHIP with the Phillies, before being traded to the Rangers at the July 30 deadline.

Howard’s biggest issue as a Phillies starter last season was his durability. He would start out strong before fading, with opponents hitting .107/.206/.125 against him in the first time through the order, compared to .458/.576/.958 in the next time through. Sixteen of his 20 strikeouts came in the first time through the order.

The main pieces who the Phillies received for Howard were starter Kyle Gibson and reliever Ian Kennedy. Gibson had a 4.59 ERA and 1.222 WHIP in 11 starts with the Phillies (he gave up six runs in 4 1/3 innings during a game where he was the primary pitcher in relief), though most of his struggles were in September, after giving up seven runs in 32 2/3 innings during his August starts.

Howard had a 9.70 ERA and 1.781 WHIP in eight starts for the Rangers. Gibson remains under contract with the Phillies for this year, so both pitchers could end up facing their former teams this season.

Seattle Mariners – J.P. Crawford and Ken Giles

The Phillies are scheduled to visit the Seattle Mariners from May 9 to 11, where they could reunite with J.P. Crawford and Ken Giles.

Crawford was drafted by the Phillies in the first round of the 2013 MLB Draft and was the team’s top-ranked prospect on MLB.com from 2015 to 2017. He played primarily at shortstop and third base for the Phillies between 2017 and 2018, where he hit .214/.333/.358, with three home runs and 18 RBI, in 72 games.

With the Phillies heading into a win-now mode for the 2019 season, they traded Crawford and Carlos Santana to the Mariners for a package that included Jean Segura.

The trade worked well for Seattle, who’ve seen huge improvements from Crawford during the last couple of seasons. He hit .255/.336/.338, with two home runs and 24 RBI, during the shortened 2020 season, where he won a gold glove at shortstop. He hit .273/.338/.376, with nine home runs and 54 RBI, last season.

Comparatively, Segura hit .266/.347/.422, with seven home runs and 25 RBI in 2020, before slashing .290/.348/.436, with 14 home runs and 58 RBI, in 2021. It’s safe to say that both teams benefited from the deal, so there should be no hard feelings by either club when Crawford and Segura face their former teams for the first time since the trade.

Another former Phillie who we could see in this series is right-handed reliever Giles, who the Phillies last faced in August 2018, when he was on the Toronto Blue Jays. Giles was drafted by the Phillies in 2011 and recorded a 1.56 ERA and 1.037 WHIP, with 16 saves, in 113 games between 2014 and 2015.

Giles was traded to the Houston Astros as part of the Vince Velasquez deal the following off-season. He looked great in his most recent full season, with a 1.87 ERA and 23 saves for the Blue Jays in 2019, before dealing with a forearm strain and ultimately undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2020.

Los Angeles Angels – Aaron Loup

The Phillies are scheduled to host the Los Angeles Angels from June 3 to 5, where they could reunite with left-handed reliever Aaron Loup.

Loup spent his first six-plus seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays, where he had a 3.47 ERA and 1.271 WHIP, before being traded to the Phillies at the 2018 deadline for minor-leaguer Jacob Waguespack.

The southpaw didn’t see much action with Philadelphia, pitching in just four innings, across nine games, where he gave up two runs off of four hits and a walk. The lack of games was due to a forearm injury that sidelined him for more than a month.

Loup pitched in just four games for the San Diego Padres in 2019, before being sidelined for the remainder of the year with an elbow injury. He’s since experienced the best stretch of his career, starting with a 2.52 ERA for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2020, where he also saw some postseason action.

Loup posted a 6-0 record, 0.95 ERA, and 0.935 WHIP in 65 games for the New York Mets last season, by far his best year, before signing with the Angels prior to the lockout. He’s given up five hits, two walks, and just two unearned runs, while striking out 10, in 9 2/3 innings against the Phillies since his time on the team.