The Philadelphia Phillies are still looking to add players to their roster in order to assemble a team that they intend to contend for and win their first World Series championship since 2008. The only obvious areas of uncertainty with their starting rotation and lineup are in the bullpen.
They could have pursued Josh Hader, the finest reliever available, but doing so would have added to the Astros’ already excessive budget because of the terms of his deal.
It so happens that their former reliever, Ken Giles, is making a Major League comeback while they scour the free agent market for more arms. In the seventh round of the 2011 MLB Draft, the Phillies selected him. He progressed gradually through their system, never regarded as one of their best prospects, and in 2014 he made his Major League debut. Throughout his two years with the Phillies, the right-hander pitched admirably for them, with an ERA of 1.56 in 113 games.
They sent Mark Appel, Vince Velasquez, Brett Oberholtzer, Tom Eshelman, and Harold Arauz to the Astros in exchange for Giles and Jonathan Arauz after the 2015 season. Despite being a member of Houston’s 2017 World Series winning club, Giles saw little action following his dismal postseason performance.
After that, he was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays, where he played for three seasons until deciding to accept a free agent contract with the Seattle Mariners. Tommy John surgery kept him out of the field for the entire 2021 season, and injuries kept him to just five appearances in 2022, the year he started playing in the lower levels.
As he makes his Major League comeback, Giles is healthy right now and will be throwing a bullpen session for teams interested in signing him, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post.
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