The Phillies had Bailey Falter on the active roster briefly in 2021. In need of an arm in April, the Phillies got two innings out of Falter. He allowed two earned runs in two innings. But after a strong performance at Lehigh Valley, Falter appears to be headed back to the Philadelphia active roster.
Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Falter is in Los Angeles with the Phillies:
Bailey Falter is with the Phillies in Los Angeles. He's expected to be activated before tonight's game vs. the Dodgers and pitch in relief of Spencer Howard.
The left-handed Falter had a 1.82 ERA in 29.2 innings at AAA. @MattGelb 1st mentioned the "piggyback" was a possibility. — Matt Breen (@matt_breen) June 14, 2021
The extra left-handed arm could profile well out of the Phillies bullpen against the Los Angeles Dodgers lineup.
Spencer Howard has struggled to maintain his velocity deep in games so far. With Ranger Suarez moving further back in the Phillies bullpen, the Phillies could use a bridge to Howard and the Phillies bullpen. Suarez provided the Phillies several three-inning appearances that added to short starts from the rotation.
The Phillies will have to make a roster move to add Falter. Falter is on the 40-man roster.
The Phillies are making this choice as they look for a role for Matt Moore, who made another rehab start yesterday at Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Moore went five innings and allowed three earned runs. Could the Phillies be stretching out Moore for the rotation spot?
Perhaps. In the meantime, the Phillies appear poised for two players to do the job tonight in Los Angeles.
