CLEARWATER, Fla. – There will be plenty of opportunities to ask Rob Thomson about the Phillies lineup this spring, which has stirred passions for many fans.On Wednesday we talked about pitchers and catchers.The Phillies held their first official practice at the Carpenter Complex. All pitchers and catchers on the 40-man roster and all non-invitees arrived on time and healthy, including newly acquired righty Spencer Turnbull, who has a major league contract, and David Buchanan, who was not invited to camp.Designated RHP McKinley Moore for assignment to make room for Turnbull on the 40-man roster.Tomson touched on several topics after Wednesday’s practice..
The Phillies appeared to be playing their own version of “Remember Some Guys” on Tuesday when they announced the signing of right-hander David Buchanan to a minor league contract with an invitation to major league spring training.And while most Phillies fans haven’t thought about the name since he last hit in Philadelphia in 2015, Buchanan didn’t just come into baseball out of thin air. The 34-year-old is coming off a successful seven-year stint in Asia, playing in both Japan and South Korea..
Drafted by the Phillies in the seventh round in 2010, Buchanan broke out in the big leagues in 2014. He had a productive rookie season with a 3.75 ERA in 20 starts, but his sophomore campaign was disastrous. Buchanan had a 6.99 ERA in 15 starts in 2015, then spent the entire next season in Triple-A.After being released by Philadelphia after the 2016 season, Buchanan signed in Japan to play for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows of Nippon Professional Baseball. After posting a 4.07 ERA over three years in Tokyo, he went to South Korea
for the Samsung Lions of the Korea Baseball Organization.Buchanan left for the Lions and posted a 3.45 ERA in his first season in 2020 before leading the KBO with 16 wins in 2021. He then posted a career 3.02 ERA in 113 starts for Samsung in 2022 and 2023.Buchanan is now returning to the United States to compete for a spot in the Phillies organization during the regular season. The club needs depth in both the rotation and long relief, two areas the veteran righty could provide. Of course, Buchanan will have to re-establish himself in baseball to get such an opportunity. But if things fall through, maybe the next stop on Buchanan’s journey is the b-season.
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