José Ruiz
Reliever José Ruiz has actually done a fine job with the Phillies since his promotion in early May when Yunior Marté went on the IL. Ruiz had signed a minor league deal with Philadelphia during the offseason to serve as pitching depth for the organization after spending his previous seven years with the San Diego Padres, Chicago White Sox and Arizona Diamondbacks.
In 26 appearances with the Phillies, Ruiz has a 2-1 record with a 4.28 ERA and 1.39 WHIP, giving up 31 hits, seven walks and 24 strikeouts in 27 1/3 innings of work. However, one caveat is that the bulk of his outings are lower leverage situations where the Phillies were ahead or down by 3+ runs. As a result, he hasn’t registered a single save or hold in the process, which could put him at a usage disadvantage compared to his teammates.
Of note is the fact that Ruiz has struggled a bit more recently, sporting an ERA over 6.00 in his last 15 games. With the bulk of the Phillies bullpen maintaining their stellar numbers, it could be enough to make him the odd man out when injured pitchers eventually return from the IL.
If the Phillies do indeed add an arm to boost the relief corps heading into the stretch run, Ruiz will likely be the tough-luck candidate to be let go from the organization, given that he also has no minor league options remaining. So he could be a sad victim of the numbers game.