A former Philadelphia Phillies reliever has signed with an American League club after his release from the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Joe Ross made the Diamondbacks Opening Day roster after signing a minor-league deal with the team. However, he struggled mightily as he appeared in 3 games and had a 19.64 ERA in 3.2 innings, which led to him being DFA’d on April 3. After electing free agency, he signed a minor league deal back with Arizona and appeared in 12 games in Triple-A, as he put up a 0–1 record and 4.29 ERA with 12 strikeouts over 21 innings of work.
Ross was released earlier this week again, and now the veteran right-hander has signed a minor-league deal with the Texas Rangers.
Ross made his MLB debut with the Washington Nationals in 2015 and spent six years with Washington, including winning the World Series in 2019. After Tommy John Surgery, which forced him to miss the entire 2022 season, he didn’t return to the MLB until 2024 with the Milwaukee Brewers.
The now 33-year-old signed a one–year, $4 million contract with the Phillies for the 2025 season. In Philadelphia, Ross had mixed results as he went 2-1 with a 5.12 ERA in 37 games over 51 innings, and ended up having to sign a minor-league deal with the Diamondbacks this offseason.
Ross will now join the Rangers organization and will look to fast-track his way to the MLB and help out Texas’ bullpen.
Phillies Thought Ross Could be a Starter
Although Ross has been a reliever, the Phillies thought about him as a starter after signing him.
Before the Phillies signed Ross, Dave Dombrowski thought the veteran could have been the fifth starter. Yet, after adding Jesus Luzardo, he was moved back to the bullpen.
“We were looking for somebody else to take the fifth spot and have the flexibility to go into the rotation or into the bullpen, which would fit the Joe Ross description,” Dombrowski said after signing Ross. “But then when we talked about Luzardo’s scenario and he was available, it just, for us, we talked about trying to get our team better in any way we possibly can.”
In his MLB career, Ross has appeared in 163 games, while starting 87 of them. However, he’s made just one start in the past two seasons in the MLB and made one start in the minors in Arizona’s system, so he’s likely just a reliever now.
Philadelphia has Turned Season Around
The Phillies struggled out of the gates, which led to the team firing Rob Thomson.
Philadelphia then named Don Mattingly the interim manager, and since then, the Phillies have turned their season around. Philadelphia is now 25-26 after Friday’s 1-0 loss to the Cleveland Guardians.
After the Phillies’ loss to the Cincinnati Reds, to go back to 25-25, Mattingly felt like the team was still in a good spot.
“We’re fine,” Mattingly said. “You’re not going to win every day. I mean, I plan on winning every day, but that’s going to happen.”
Philadelphia is four games back of a Wild Card spot, but with the amount of talent the team has, Mattingly is confident in the group.
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