Philadelphia Phillies Reliever Clears Final Injury Rehab Hurdle

The Philadelphia Phillies may be ready to call up a key piece of their bullpen after a scintillating rehab inning at Clearwater on Thursday.

Philadelphia Phillies reliever Orion Kerkering may have cleared the final hurdle to return to the Majors after a perfect ninth inning for the Clearwater Threshers on Thursday.

Kerkering was closing down a game started by Taijuan Walker, who is starting his own rehab assignment in the minors.

Kerkering pitched the ninth inning of a 10-5 win for the Threshers. He struck out all three hitters he faced.

That was his fourth appearance since he started his rehab work in the minors. He pitched 4.1 innings, allowing two hits, no runs, and no walks. He struck out 10 and is 1-0 with no ERA. He started his rehab with Triple-A Lehigh Valley on March 30 and he has gone back and forth between the Iron Pigs and Clearwater the past two weeks.  

MLB.com reported that as long as Kerkering had no setbacks he would rejoin the Phillies on Sunday when they wrap up their four-game series with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Phillies will have to make a roster move to call him up.

The Phillies placed him on the 15-day injured list on March 28 with a right forearm strain.

Kerkering made his Major League debut last September when the Phillies called him up to help bolster their bullpen. He went 1-0 with a 3.00 in three games with six strikeouts and two walks. He impressed the Phillies enough to keep him on the postseason roster.

During the playoffs he made seven appearances and pitched five innings, finishing with a 3.38 ERA. He struck out five and walked three.

Kerkering was a fifth-round pick in the 2022 MLB Draft out of South Florida. As a minor league pitcher he went 6-1 with a 1.66 ERA in 59 games.