Ricardo Pinto
Talk about a whirlwind of a debut for bullpen hopeful Ricardo Pinto, who had a lot happening in his first appearance of the season for the Phillies on Tuesday.
When reliever Connor Brogdon was designated for assignment, Pinto was called up and had to make his way to the game that evening. However, as The Philadelphia Inquirer's Alex Coffey reported, that was an adventure (subscription required). He endured a six-hour car ride from Rochester to get to the game.
After showing up in the fourth inning, he was shockingly thrust into game action following Spencer Turnbull’s impressive start. The Phillies didn’t just ease him into action, as Pinto pitched four key innings to register the save and secure the Phillies win over the Reds. In total, he threw 73 pitches and gave up two earned runs on five hits with no walks and four strikeouts. Pinto's solid first impression was many times better than what Brogdon had provided in his three appearances.
This spring, Pinto had a decent showing despite his brief stay in training camp with the Phillies. He posted a 1-0 record with a 3.18 ERA and 1.24 WHIP, giving up just two earned runs with three walks and three strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings of work. Perhaps the Phillies brass saw enough to give him his shot again at the big league level, an opportunity that he hadn’t seen since 2019 with the Tampa Bay Rays.
Similar to Ortiz and Nelson, Pinto will be one of the bubble players when both Kerkering and Walker come off the injured list. But unlike the other two, Pinto has no minor league options remaining, so if he continues to impress, he might have the slight upper hand to stick with the team.