During spring training, the Philadelphia Phillies had a fair number of players battling it out for the final bench spots on the 26-man roster. For some, such as Kody Clemens and Rafael Marchán, they were fortunate enough to win out a spot heading into the 2025 campaign. But for others less fortunate, such as Buddy Kennedy, not earning a spot also led to him being designated for assignment prior to the start of the regular season due to his lack of minor league options.
However, it appears that Kennedy’s tenure with the Phillies organization isn’t over just yet. On Tuesday, the team announced that the 26-year-old infielder successfully cleared waivers and was outrighted to their Triple-A affiliate Lehigh Valley. In lieu of the assignment, Kennedy elected free agency and quickly re-signed with the Phillies on another a minor league contract. Because it was the second time in his career that he has been outrighted, it gave Kennedy the option to declare free agency and rework a better contract.
INF Buddy Kennedy has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Lehigh Valley (AAA). In lieu of accepting the assignment, Kennedy elected free agency and signed a minor league contract with the Phillies.
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) April 2, 2025
With the Buddy Kennedy signing, the Phillies retain vital bench depth in the minors
Kennedy originally became a part of the Phillies organization via a trade last June with the Detroit Tigers. Assigned to Lehigh Valley following the transaction, he put up some decent offensive numbers, posting a .294 average and .900 OPS, with 44 runs scored, 19 doubles, 10 home runs and 35 RBIs in 67 games played. The solid performance earned Kennedy a late-season call-up in September where he registered his first run, hit and RBI, but struggled for the most part in his eight-game cameo.
He was expected to challenge for a potential reserve role with Philadelphia for the 2025 season in training camp. However, Kennedy failed to rise to the occasion, as he compiled just a .150 average and .727 OPS in 52 plate appearances across 22 spring games. Nevertheless, he still managed to show off some of his power production by registering three home runs and seven RBIs in the process.
With Kennedy’s potential still yet to be fully realized at the young age of 26, the Phillies now have another chance to help him develop in another go-around with the organization with the new minor league deal. To make himself more valuable to the team, he spent time learning to play the outfield this spring. Hopefully Kennedy can provide some much-needed bench depth for Philadelphia going forward, especially after seeing some of the injury woes that the club endured last season.
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