Philadelphia Phillies Pull Off Trade with Rangers, Reinforce Bullpen Depth

The Philadelphia Phillies announced Thursday that the club has acquired right-handed pitcher Daniel Robert from the Texas Rangers in exchange for right-handed pitcher Enrique Segura.

After the acquisition, the Phillies optioned Robert to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

Robert, a 30-year-old native of Alabama, has appeared in four Major League games in his career, all last season with the Rangers.

In those outings, he posted a 3.18 ERA while striking out six hitters in 5.2 innings of work.

Robert looks like he could be a potentially intriguing option for Philadelphia's struggling bullpen, as he's off to a blazing hot start with Triple-A Round Rock.

In his 10 games there this season, he owns a 1.54 ERA and a 13.1 strikeouts per nine innings rate.

After being drafted by the Rangers in the 21st round of the 2017 MLB draft, Robert took until last season to find success at the Triple-A level after struggling mightily in 2022 and improving to just around league average in 2023.

The success is largely due to improved control, as his walk rate has dropped sharply from 6.3 per nine innings in 2022 to 2.7 last year and 3.1 this season.

Segura, a 20-year-old prospect, has not pitched above the Single-A level, where this season he owns a 4.24 ERA over four appearances and three starts.

A six-foot-three native of the Dominican Republic, Segura offers the Rangers a shot at some potential upside as a starter down the road, but the move seems to benefit Philadelphia given what Robert could provide to their floundering bullpen in the near future.