The Phillies announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Tyler Cyr. To make room on the active roster, right-hander Seranthony Dominguez is heading to the 15-day injured list due to triceps soreness. A spot on the 40-man was opened up by Corey Knebel getting transferred to the 60-day IL with a tear in his shoulder capsule. He will not return to the club this season.
It’s yet another unfortunate setback for Knebel, 30, who has frequently oscillated between promising mound work and injury absences. After an excellent run with Milwaukee over the 2015-18 seasons, he was able to throw only 39 innings over the next three seasons due to various injuries. The Phillies took a shot on him by giving him a one-year, $10M contract for 2022. Knebel threw 44 2/3 innings with a 3.43 ERA, which will now go down as his final results for the year. He’ll head to free agency in a few months, but his recovery from this injury will determine the level of interest.
As for Dominguez, 27, it’s unclear exactly how long the Phillies expect him to be out of action. Regardless, it’s a frustrating setback in what has been a very encouraging season. After Tommy John surgery caused him to miss 2020 and limited him to just one inning in 2021, he has thrown 44 innings this season with an incredible 1.64 ERA. He’s striking out 32% of batters faced, walking just 8.3% of them and getting grounders on 49% of balls in play. That’s primarily come in high leverage situations as well, with Dominguez racking up nine saves and 13 holds on the season. His departure will certainly impair the Phillies’ bullpen for as long as he’s away.
Cyr, 29, was selected by the Giants in the 10th round of the 2015 draft. He showed enough promise in the lower levels of their system to crack Baseball America’s list of top San Francisco farmhands, coming in at #26 in 2018. However, he struggled when he got to the top of the minor league ladder.
He first reached Triple-A in 2019, getting a single appearance there as the season was winding down. Then the pandemic wiped out the minor leagues entirely in 2020. Cyr returned to Triple-A in 2021 but registered a 4.91 ERA in 36 2/3 innings. He racked up strikeouts at an incredible 31.6% rate but also had a 13.5% walk rate. His 52.5% ground ball rate was also quite strong, but he was knocked around by allowing four homers in that sample, a 17.4% HR/FB rate.
After reaching free agency, he signed with the Phillies for 2022 and has had a better showing. He has a 2.50 ERA through 36 innings. His strikeout rate has dropped to 24.8% but he’s still walking 12.1% of batters faced, getting grounders on 51.1% of balls in play. He hasn’t allowed a home run. Based on that strong showing, he’s been selected to a major league roster for the first time and will make his big league debut as soon as he gets into a game.
Matt Gelb of The Athletic tweeted out the news prior to the official announcement.
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