Buddy Kennedy
Buddy Kennedy was acquired by the Phillies from the Detroit Tigers in a trade back in early June to add some infield depth to the organization. Spending the bulk of the rest of 2024 with their Triple-A affiliate Lehigh Valley, Kennedy was recalled by the Phillies three times during the final five weeks of the season.
He debuted for the club as a defensive replacement at third in a game against the Miami Marlins on Sept. 6. Kennedy also got his first start as a Phillie on Sept. 13 against the New York Mets and went hitless in three at-bats.
In the end, he appeared in eight games for Philadelphia, recording two hits, one run scored and two RBI for a .182 average and .580 OPS. His time saw him put together some clutch at-bats down the stretch for the Phillies. The Millville, NJ native came up with the biggest hit of his Phillies tenure in the final home series against the Mets:
YEAH BUDDY! pic.twitter.com/H8YOxk6KMJ
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) September 15, 2024
At just the young age of 26 and having shown some good plate discipline and pop in his bat throughout his minor league career, Kennedy could continue to be a valuable depth piece for the Phillies going forward.
Nick Nelson
Originally a fourth-round pick of the New York Yankees from the 2016 MLB Draft, Nick Nelson was traded to the Phillies during the 2021-22 offseason. Following the trade, Nelson became a key part of the Phillies bullpen during the 2022 season.
Despite showing promise with his strikeout ability by registering 69 punch outs in just 68 2/3 innings pitched over 47 appearances, he often struggled with his command, leading to 36 walks, a 4.85 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP in the process.
In doing so, Nelson no longer became a regular on the Phillies’ major league roster as he spent the bulk of 2023 and 2024 finding his game in the minors. This past season, he made it into only four big league games, posting a 5.06 ERA and 1.88 WHIP, giving up three runs on eight hits with eight strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings of work. Nelson was eventually designated for assignment and outrighted to Triple-A toward the end of the season. Upon the conclusion of the Phillies’ season, he elected for free agency.
Seth Johnson
Finally, we have one of the Phillies' trade deadline acquisitions in right-handed pitching prospect Seth Johnson. Acquired from the Baltimore Orioles along with another prospect, Moises Chace, in exchange for the disgruntled Gregory Soto, Johnson was surprisingly promoted in early September to make his MLB debut with the club.
With the Phillies looking for a viable fifth starter option at the time, his impressive performance in the minors since joining the organization caught the team's attention.
However, Johnson had a start he would rather forget, as he gave up a whopping nine runs on eight hits with three walks and zero strikeouts in just 2 1/3 innings pitched, setting a painful record in the process.
Nevertheless, as a former first-round pick from the 2019 MLB Draft and now currently the Phillies No. 15 prospect in the organization according to MLB Pipeline, he is full of potential. Johnson should still be given all the opportunity to grow and fully develop, given his proven minor league track record thus far. By the time Johnson starts making big contributions with the Phillies down the road, no one will remember the disastrous debut he once had.