Two Phillies claimed off waivers by the Braves
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The Atlanta Braves claimed both RHP Victor Arano and OF Kyle Garlick off of waivers today.
Philadelphia had recently designated both players for assignment after adding Archie Bradley and CJ Chatham to the 40-man roster this offseason.
Arano had a great 2018 season for the Phillies in which he was arguably their best reliever, tossing 59 1/3 innings with a 2.93 ERA and posting 2.0 wins above replacement. But Arano had elbow surgery early in 2019 and missed the entire season. The injury also sidelined him for the entirety of 2020.
If Arano is able to regain his form that we saw in 2018, then this is a big miss for the Phillies. But holding a roster spot for a right handed reliever with a lengthy injury history is not something the Phillies can afford to do after running out the worst bullpen in MLB history last season.
After a hot start to his MLB career with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Garlick struggled in his lone season in Philadelphia slashing only .136/.174/.182 with a double and three RBI spanning 23 plate appearances. Garlick however, put up good numbers throughout the minor leagues playing against mostly younger competition and can play multiple outfield positions. With Marcel Ozuna poised to leave via free agency this offseason the Braves badly needed outfield depth.
This move pretty much guarantees that Mickey Moniak will make the Phillies opening day roster in 2021. Honestly, it would have been absurd to keep the 29 year old Garlick, who has a very small sample size of MLB success, over the former #1 overall pick.
Losing Garlick leaves the Phillies with five major league ready outfielders on the 40-man roster.
Harper, Haseley, McCutchen, Moniak, and Quinn plus Simon Muzziotti who ended last season in A+ and almost certainly wont see action until 2022.
Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY
