The Chicago Cubs made a small move on Tuesday, trading pitcher Michael Rucker to the Philadelphia Phillies for cash. Rucker was previously assigned by Chicago after signing Hector Neris to a one-year deal.Rucker was an 11th-round draft pick of the Cubs in 2016 before being selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the 2019 Rule 5 Draft. He never made an appearance for the Orioles and was returned to the Cubs in March 2020..
After debuting with the Cubs in 2021, Rucker found consistent work in the bullpen. The right-hander has played 20 or more games in each of the past three seasons. His best season came in 2022 when he posted a 3.95 ERA..
When the Cubs officially signed Neris, Rucker was considered the odd man out. The move to DFA Rucker helped free up room on the 40-man roster for a Cubs team in need of dominant shortstop arms to deal with closer Adbert Alzolay. As he enters his age-30 season, Rucker is looking for a home in a Phillies bullpen that finished in the top 10 in ERA last season.T.
The Phillies have been rumored as suitors for Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase. Philly is considered a target for Milwaukee, and it is closer. Philadelphia’s closer is expected to be José Alvarado, who has some experience but has only 45 saves in seven years in the majors. Another option would be reliever Gregory Soto, who has 62 saves in his five-year career, including 52 in two seasons with the Detroit Tigers.
Williams is 15-of-17 in 2022, followed by 36-of-40 with the Brewers last season. He finished the year with a 1.53 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and a 37.7 percent strikeout percentage. If the Phillies sign him, it would give them another chance to close games if manager Rob Thomson prefers to use Alvarado and Soto in the seventh or eighth inning.
The closer from Milwaukee is also a right-handed pitcher, unlike Soto and Alvarado, who are both left-handed, which would give Philly options that throw both left-handed and right-handed. If the Brewers are looking for prospects, who among the Phillies might interest them in signing Williams? Who could the Phillies offer for Devin Williams in a trade package? 4,444 teams have shown
interest in two of the Phillies’ young prospects: shortstop Bryan Rincon (No. 28 prospect in 2023) and catcher Eduardo Tait (No. 23). It may not be in their best interest to trade either young player if other organizations have expressed interest in signing them. In Rincon’s case, however, Philadelphia signed Trea Turner to a long-term contract last offseason, and he may not have an opening opportunity if he is ready to debut at the major league level..
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