Phillies Sign Former Twins Reliever Blake Parker
By Parker White
The Philadelphia Phillies need a shot in the arm in their bullpen, which is why on Tuesday they decided to make a move, which could be a sign of what's to come as the trade deadline approaches.
The team reported signed right-handed reliever Blake Parker, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
#Phillies sign free-agent RHP Blake Parker to major-league deal, sources tell me and @MattGelb.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 30, 2019
Parker was recently with the Minnesota Twins, but after rejecting an outright assignment to Triple-A shortly following an outing where he got destroyed by the Yankees, he cleared waivers and became a free agent.
After clearing waivers, Parker opted to become a free agent rather than accept a Triple A assignment with the #MNTwins. https://t.co/MXdaGLqWlg
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 30, 2019
Parker has made 37 appearances for the AL Central-leading Twins, posting a 4.21 ERA to go along with 34 strikeouts over 36.1 innings. The 34-year-old is coming off back-to-back seasons where he was a reliable arm out of the pen for the Los Angeles Angels, but walks (4.0 BB/9) have been a huge problem in his lone season in Minnesota.
Philadelphia needed to do something to help this struggling bullpen, but Parker has plenty to prove, as his velocity is down and he's getting less swings and misses.