The Phillies made a pair of corresponding roster moves Saturday, per the club. Johan Camargo and Ranger Suarez were activated from the 15-day injured list, while a pair of former No. 1 overall draft picks in Mickey Moniak and Mark Appel were optioned back to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Suarez has been an important piece of the Phillies rotation this year.
Through 15 starts, the southpaw has a 4.33 ERA/4.26 FIP in 79 innings, not all that far off from the 109 frames that he totaled last season, which was a career-high. Suarez steps back into the rotation that includes righties Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, and Kyle Gibson.
Appel gave the game one of the feel-good stories of the year when he made his Major League debut. Appel, who turned 31 on Friday, was twice a first-round pick, taken No. 8 overall by the Pirates and then No. 1 overall by the Astros in the following draft. It took until June 29 of this season for the big righty to get his first shot in the show, however.
Appel has now taken the hill four times for the Phillies, including a pair of multi-inning outings this month. In total, Appel registered seven innings of work, allowing just a single earned run on six hits and two walks while striking out three. For now, he’ll return to Triple-A, where he owns a 1.61 ERA over 19 relief outings totaling 28 innings with a 24-to-8 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Moniak, the first overall selection of the 2016 draft, has had limited opportunities with the Phillies over the past couple of seasons. This year, he has amassed 50 plate appearances over 18 games of action, slashing .130/.184/.152 in that time.
Camargo returns to take back his roster spot as a key reserve for the Phils. Capable of playing the infield or the outfield, Camargo’s value largely comes from his versatility. He has struggled with the bat, however, posting a 74 wRC+ on the year, which is his highest such mark since his 2018 breakout with the Braves.
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