The Philadelphia Phillies made a couple of roster moves on Thursday, but only one of them was what a large number of fans wanted to see. Ahead of the team's series finale against the Miami Marlins, they optioned struggling infielder/outfielder Weston Wilson to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. That's the move fans will be happy with.
The corresponding move sees the Phillies recall infielder Buddy Kennedy from Triple-A. While fans will be happy to see the last of Wilson (at least for now), bringing back Kennedy isn't exactly an inspiring replacement. Ask Phillies fans who they want to see called up, and it wouldn't be surprising to hear top prospect Justin Crawford's name liberally bandied about.
Today the Phillies selected the contract of INF Buddy Kennedy from Lehigh Valley (AAA). To make room on the 26-man roster, INF/OF Weston Wilson was optioned to LHV following last night’s game. To make room on the 40-man roster, RHP Aaron Nola was transferred to the 60-day IL.
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) June 19, 2025
While the roster shuffle sees starting pitcher Aaron Nola shifted to the 60-day IL to make room on the 40-man roster, that won't change the right-hander's timeline in returning from a rib stress fracture. He wouldn't have returned before the All-Star break anyway, per NBC Sports Philadelphia's Corey Seidman.
Wilson, 30, began the year on the IL with an oblique injury. Since being activated on April 23, he has been limited to 22 games and 42 plate appearances thanks to struggling at the plate and in the field. He is slashing .194/.310/.278 with one home run this season.
Phillies forced to call-up Buddy Kennedy instead of giving top prospect Justin Crawford a shot
Kennedy is playing well enough in Triple-A to warrant another look. The 26-year-old is slashing .283/.388/.447 with eight home runs in 61 games this season. Since May 1, he's slashing .295/.387/.497 with seven of his home runs.
Despite those numbers, fans won't necessarily be excited to see him back on the big league roster. We've seen Kennedy before, albeit in very, very small sample sizes. Last year, he appeared in eight games with the Phillies, slashing .182/.308/.273 in 13 plate appearances. For his MLB career, he's a .203 hitter with a .608 OPS in 149 plate appearances between Arizona, Detroit and Philly.
But the plot thickens thanks to some information shared by The Athletic's Matt Gelb. Kennedy recently exercised an "upward mobility" clause in his contract, per Gelb. The Phillies were forced to call him up or risk losing him to one of the other 29 teams.
Kennedy had recently exercised an upward mobility clause in his minor-league deal, making him available to 29 other teams. Phillies opt to promote and keep him. https://t.co/MeuQf0gMwm
— Matt Gelb (@MattGelb) June 19, 2025
The silliest thing with this move is that Kennedy is out of options, and he's an infielder. He played one game in left field for the IronPigs last season, had one the previous year with Arizona's Triple-A team and nine in 2022. He hasn't played the outfield at all this year.
The Phillies already have Otto Kemp and Edmundo Sosa as infielders, so this decision leaves them an actual outfielder short. According to Lochlahn March of The Philadelphia Inquirer, manager Rob Thomson plans to give Kemp a chance in left field, platooning with Max Kepler. Kennedy can play first base, but will become redundant when Bryce Harper returns. If Kennedy doesn't work out, he'll be designated for assignment and likely lost anyway.
Rob Thomson expects to give Otto Kemp some runway in left field as a potential platoon partner for Max Kepler. Buddy Kennedy can play first, giving the Phillies flexibility.
— Lochlahn March (@lochlahn) June 19, 2025
Kemp hasn’t played in left yet in the majors but has been getting outfield work outside of games.
The forced roster move will drive fans even more bonkers with Phillies' No. 3 MLB Pipeline prospect Crawford ravaging Triple-A pitching. The 21-year-old outfielder is getting his first taste of Triple-A and has a .342/.410/.434 slash line in 56 games. While Crawford has just one home run, he has racked up 12 doubles and three triples, not to mention 24 stolen bases. If the Phillies' front office is waiting for him to become a home run hitter, they might not want to hold their breath.