José Cuas
It was surprising when the Phillies took a flyer on reliever José Cuas in a waiver wire claim from the Toronto Blue Jays back in early September. Despite posting a respectable sub-4.00 ERA in his two previous seasons in the majors, that solid mark played a big role in masking his control and command issues that have plagued him for much of his career. With a career walk rate of 5.2 batters per nine innings and a WHIP close to 1.60, Cuas constantly had runners reaching base, but somehow managed to get out of it for the majority of the time to minimize the damage.
However, his command issues finally caught up to him this season, as his exposure led to him being waived twice during the 2024 year. In his 13 relief appearances split between the Chicago Cubs and the Jays, Cuas posted a dismal 7.71 ERA and 1.78 WHIP, giving up 14 earned runs on 10 walks and 17 strikeouts in just 16 1/3 innings of work. Shockingly, he somehow avoided picking up a loss or blown save in the process, meaning that he was likely used only in non-important game situations.
Even after joining the Phillies organization, Cuas continued his struggles with their Triple-A affiliate in Lehigh Valley, posting a 4.91 ERA and 1.64 WHIP over four appearances. When the Phillies were in need of arms over the course of the month in September, they turned to the likes of Phillips, Tyler Gilbert, Kolby Allard, Seth Johnson and even Nick Nelson rather than considering giving Cuas a shot down the stretch. As a result, by not being ranked highly on the pitching depth chart in the organization, the Phillies need to move on from Cuas for better pitching options in the future.