dailyloe.com – The Philadelphia Phillies made a roster move during today’s double-header, selecting right-hander Trevor Richards. This decision follows the placement of left-hander Kyle Backhus on the 15-day injured list due to left elbow inflammation.
Backhus’s injury is retroactive to April 27th, and he last pitched on Saturday. The Phillies have had an open 40-man roster spot since releasing Taijuan Walker a week ago, eliminating the need for additional moves.
Richards signed a minor league deal with the Phillies in the offseason and has been performing well for Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He has pitched 14 innings over nine appearances, allowing three earned runs, which gives him a 1.93 ERA.
His impressive performance includes a .111 batting average on balls in play and a 100% strand rate. All three runs he allowed were home runs, but he struck out 26 of the 50 batters he faced, achieving a 52% strikeout rate, while only walking three batters.
Richards has had a mix of results in his major league career from 2021 to 2023, pitching 201 innings, primarily for the Toronto Blue Jays. He maintained a strong 31.3% strikeout rate but faced issues with walks, averaging 10.9%.
During that span, 14.5% of his fly balls resulted in home runs. He recorded 25 holds but finished with a 4.61 ERA. However, his 3.37 SIERA indicated potential for improvement in larger samples.
In 2024, Richards returned to the Blue Jays, logging 51 1/3 innings with a 4.64 ERA. His performance showed fewer home runs allowed but a decline in strikeouts. He was traded to the Minnesota Twins mid-season.
While with the Twins, he posted a 4.15 ERA, an improvement over his time with the Jays, but control issues persisted. He walked 11 of the 59 batters he faced, resulting in an 18.6% walk rate, and also hit two batters while throwing seven wild pitches.
The Twins designated Richards for assignment before August ended in 2024. In 2025, he spent most of the time in the minors but made five big league appearances.
