The final month of the regular season is upon us, and with that comes the annual tradition of new faces arriving in the big leagues, with MLB rosters expanding on Sunday. Like the other 29 teams, the Philadelphia Phillies have made their decision on who will get the first September call-up and a(nother) crack at the major league roster.
Unlike in the past, teams are permitted just two extra spots, taking their active roster from 26 to 28 players. Up until a few years ago, teams were allowed to call up as many of their 40-man roster players as they liked.
The other rule to remember is that the Phillies and every other team can only carry 14 pitchers, which usually means one pitcher and one position player get added on Sept. 1.
So, who did the Phillies choose to call up this season? There were plenty of options, with deserving players vying for a promotion down in Triple-A, but there were a couple of obvious choices. And that's who the Phillies chose.
Tyler Phillips and Kody Clemens added to Phillies' expanded September roster
The news actually broke last night, with beat reporters breaking the news following the Phillies' 3-0 win over the Braves. But ahead of their series finale with the Atlanta Braves on Sunday, the Phillies made it official, announcing that right-handed pitcher Tyler Phillips and infielder Kody Clemens have been called up.
Prior to tonight’s game against the Atlanta Braves, the Phillies recalled INF Kody Clemens and RHP Tyler Phillips from Lehigh Valley (AAA), expanding the roster to 28 players.
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) September 1, 2024
Phillips had been speculated as the first possible option to take Taijuan Walker's rotation spot after the struggling veteran was moved to the bullpen earlier this week. In his previous stint with the Phillies, Phillips burst onto the scene in a spectacular MLB debut on July 7 when he struck out seven Braves in four innings of relief — something that hadn't been done by a Phillies pitcher in 123 years.
Before being optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Aug. 17, Phillips pitched in seven games (six starts), posting a 4-1 record with a 5.50 ERA and 1.22 WHIP. His final three starts really saw his ratios balloon as he got hit around by the Mariners, Dodgers and Miami, posting a 13.91 ERA in those outings.
The 25-year-old native of New Jersey will draw the start when the team travels to Toronto to face the Blue Jays on Tuesday. He'll also likely get the start next Sunday against the Miami Marlins before Kolby Allard becomes eligible to be recalled from Triple-A.
The red-hot Kody Clemens will also rejoin the team after going bananas on Triple-A pitching in August. He's slashing .266/.322/.489 in 68 Triple-A games this season but was unstoppable in 25 games last month. He batted .326/.385/.568 with six home runs, five doubles, 18 RBI and even added a pair of stolen bases.
In 65 plate appearances over 24 games with the Phillies this season, the versatile infielder/outfielder hit .242/.277/.500 with three homers and 10 RBI. We'll have to wait to see how manager Rob Thomson deploys the left-handed hitting Clemens this time around.