The Philadelphia Phillies have made their first addition to the starting rotation this offseason. According to The Athletic’s Will Sammon, they have reportedly signed former Washington National, Max Kranick to a minor -league contract with a non-roster invite to Major League spring training on Sunday morning.
Kranick hasn’t pitched out of the rotation in a Major League game since 2021, when he started nine games for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2021 to a 6.28 ERA. Since then, he’s thrown 60.1 innings out of the bullpen for the Pirates, New York Mets, and Washington Nationals, and has posted a 5.07 ERA.
He was effective for the Mets in 2025, but missed the end of that season and the first two and a half months of 2026 following flexor tendon surgery on his right elbow.
Kranick’s performance suffered after his recovery; his FIP was a ghastly 7.03 last year, showing that his 9.33 ERA was no fluke. The Phillies hope not only to get the 2025 version of Kranick, a year in which his walk rate was 4.7% compared to 13.8% last year, but also to have him as a depth option out of the rotation.
Though he’s been coming out of the ‘pen in the Majors, Sammon reports that the Phillies will give him an opportunity to prove himself as a starter. It’s unlikely Kranick has any chance at beginning the 2027 season in the Phillies’ rotation, barring serious injuries to the staff. Instead, he would join Alan Rangel among the team’s notoriously thin pitching depth.
Dave Dombrowski shouldn't be done adding to the rotation
Don’t expect Kranick to be the only swingman president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski acquires this offseason. Rangel proved himself untrustworthy in the role last year, posting a 5.88 ERA, and with the starting rotation so solidified, the Phillies will likely take a quantity-over-quality approach.
Few established starters will want to come to Philadelphia to join a rotation where they have no chance of cracking the top five. Thus, Dombrowski must hunt among the castoffs and the bargain bins.
With the non-tender deadline approaching on November 17, the free agent market will be flooded with former Major Leaguers desperate to find a home on a big-league roster. The Phillies can’t shy away from taking advantage of the oncoming surplus.
They’ll have only 14 days between then and the impending lockout to sign players before CBA negotiations are resolved. Expect a lot of small moves, and maybe some really big ones in the coming weeks.
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