Phillies Release Dylan Carlson

The Phillies have moved on from veteran outfielder Dylan Carlson. He was released after spending a couple of months at Triple-A with the organization. Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer was first to report the move.

Carlson joined the Phillies on a minor league agreement in mid-May. He scuffled to a 65 wRC+ in 153 plate appearances with Lehigh Valley. That came after a two-week stretch hitting .175 with the Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate. Chicago released Carlson from his minor league deal in early May. He broke camp with the big-league club but only appeared in three games before being designated for assignment.

Baltimore added Carlson on a modest deal last season. He bounced up and down as a part-time player for the club. The former top prospect slashed .203/.278/.336 with six home runs over 241 plate appearances. That was enough to earn a major-league gig this year, with some help from an injury to outfielder Seiya Suzuki. Carlson went 0-for-4 with a couple of strikeouts as a Cub.

Carlson was 11% better than league average in his first full season in the majors (2021). Since then, he’s consistently struggled to make meaningful contact. Carlson had a 30.5% hard-hit rate with the Orioles last year. That’s right in line with his career mark of 30.8%. He’s also been a subpar outfielder by Defensive Runs Saved going back to 2024.