The Philadelphia Phillies have seen many of their former players head overseas in recent years searching for the opportunity to resurrect their careers. More notably, recent Phillies such as Yunior Marte and Jake Cave have found some success since moving to Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and Korean Baseball Organization (KBO), respectively.
Another former Phillies player appears to be following a similar route this offseason as right-hander Matt Manning signed a one-year, $1 million contract to join the Samsung Lions of the KBO for the 2026 season. Manning was acquired by the Phillies from the Detroit Tigers in exchange for outfielder Josueth Quinonez this past trade deadline after he was designated for assignment by Detroit in late July.
Phillies' former acquisition Matt Manning signs in KBO after post-trade deadline struggles
As a former first-round selection by the Tigers in 2016, the Phillies were hoping that a change of scenery might help Manning rediscover the form that once made him one of the top pitching prospects in all of baseball. After all, the 27-year-old right-hander showed flashes of brilliance coming through the Tigers’ farm system.
He consistently posted a sub-3.00 ERA and a WHIP close to 1.00 while striking out more than a batter per inning all the way up to Double-A. However, Manning had yet to find his form at the Triple-A and eventually at the MLB level during his nine years with Detroit. He finished with an 11-15 record with a 4.43 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP, with 178 strikeouts in 254 innings over 50 starts with the Tigers.
But following the move to Philadelphia at the deadline, Manning was utilized sparingly and struggled in his only two starts with Double-A Reading when given the chance. He posted an 0-1 record, 10.80 ERA, and 2.00 WHIP, giving up six runs on three hits with seven walks and eight strikeouts in just five innings of work.
As a result, his tenure with the Phillies was short-lived as he was designated for assignment in mid-September when the Phillies needed to open up a spot on the 40-man roster for Walker Buehler. Manning ultimately elected free agency upon the completion of the 2025 season.
Given what we have seen so far with some former Phillies thriving in their new environment in Korea, Manning will be aiming to revitalize his career with his journey overseas. And still just 27, he will have plenty of opportunity to get his game back on track and hopefully become a player of relevance once again.