According to MLB trade rumors, the Phillies plan to bring pitchers to Clearwater as non-roster invitees when spring training begins in two and a half months, including one right-handed pitcher who has agreed to a minor league contract. He is expected to be relief pitcher Jose Luis. .
Ruiz is a 29-year-old Venezuelan who pitched in the majors in each of the past seven seasons. He played in 212 career games, 177 of them with the White Sox. He spent most of 2023 with the Diamondbacks, posting a 4.43 ERA and 1.50 WHIP in 40 2/3 innings.
Lewis finished the season with Reno, Arizona’s Triple-A affiliate, giving up just two runs and striking out 20 in his final 15 innings.
The Phillies will return most of their eight-man bullpen in 2024: Jose Alvarado, Seranthony Dominguez, Jeff Hoffman, Gregory Soto, Matt Stram and Orion Kirkeling. They signed Dylan Covey, who remained on the roster after May 20 as a sporadically used long reliever.
They will likely add a late-inning reliever to replace free agent Craig Kimbrel, but they may wait to see how that market develops. Kimbrel, for example, didn’t sign until January 4 of last offseason.
Relievers expected to compete for spots in spring training include Lewis, Andrew Verratti, Luis Ortiz, Yunior Marte, McKinley Moore, Connor Brogdon, Michael Mercado and others the Phillies will hold between now and mid-February. Includes players adding minor league contracts. Lewis is the only pitcher in that group who is not a minor league option, so the Phillies won’t be able to freely send him back to the minors and will instead have to put him through waivers.