3) The Phillies roster won’t have Yunior Marte on it by August 1
Optional reliever Yunior Marte is what he is. What is that? The shortest way to explain: he’s a below-average reliever.
Marte has already flipped between the majors and minors this year. His triumphs in Triple-A continue to allow him an opportunity to pitch in the big leagues. He’s 1-1 with a 3.38 ERA in 10.2 minor league innings but far worse at 0-1 with a 5.11 ERA in 24.2 MLB innings.
The Phillies should be in search of at least one right-handed upgrade for the bullpen. Marte is one of the most obvious players to demote to make room for an improvement. His purpose for this ball club always has been depth. He should stick around on the 40-man roster. However, a spot on the 26-man roster is a little too ambitious based on his output.
Marte and Andrew Bellatti are the two pitchers the Phillies could demote in favor of a trade deadline addition or the return from the IL from another reliever. Marte might be a demotion candidate well before a trade happens. When he does go down to Lehigh Valley, he might want to get comfortable. It could be the last we see of him in 2023 as long as Dave Dombrowski does his job and gets some arms.