Phillies Pull Off Another Trade, Acquire Infielder From Tigers

The Philadelphia Phillies have been active on the trade market in recent days and have just made another move with the Detroit Tigers. The Phillies announced that they've acquired infielder Buddy Kennedy from the Tigers for cash considerations on Friday.

The 25-year-old was designated for assignment on June 3.

Kennedy will be placed on the 40-man roster and is viewed as minor-league depth.

The move doesn't come as a surprise. Kennedy was a standout at Millville High School in New Jersey. There's a good chance the organization had their eyes on him when he was in high school, viewed as one of the top players in the country and in New Jersey at the time.

He was drafted in the fifth round of the 2017 MLB Draft out of high school by the Arizona Diamondbacks. Kennedy decided to pass on his commitment to UNC.

In his big league career, the right-handed hitter has appeared in 40 games for the Diamondbacks over a two-year span and six games for Detroit this season.

Known as someone who can swing the bat at a high level when he's on his game, Kennedy had his struggles at the big league level. He's slashed .205/.294/.316 with two home runs.

Spending most of his time this year with triple-A Toledo, the Tigers triple-A team, Kennedy slashed .234/.331/.383 with three home runs in 141 at-bats.

He can play multiple infield positions, mostly at second and third base.

Despite the struggles in his limited action at the big league level, Kennedy impressed in the minors from 2021 to 2023. He posted a .287/.395/.455 slash line in that span.

With the possibility of being someone that Philadelphia can call up and be competitive in the box, this is a smart deal from Dave Dombrowski.

Being a New Jersey kid, this also allows him the opportunity to return closer to home.