The Phillies re-signed reliever Jackson Rutledge on a minor league contract, according to the MLB.com transaction tracker. He was assigned back to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, where he’ll go on the injured list.
Philadelphia released Rutledge last week, a few days after he was designated for assignment to open a roster spot for Derek Hill. That was a procedural move, as players who suffered an injury in the minors cannot be placed on outright waivers. A release was essentially inevitable once the Phillies took him off the roster. Rutledge spent a week on the open market before circling back on a non-roster contract.
The Phillies claimed Rutledge off waivers from the Nationals in mid-May. They immediately optioned him to Triple-A, where he gave up four runs across five innings before the injury. Rutledge has made one MLB appearance this season with Washington. The Pirates put up seven runs against him on April 13.
Rutledge was a first-round pick in the 2019 draft. The 6’8″ righty moved to the bullpen last year after brief MLB appearances from 2023-24. Rutledge struggled to a 5.77 earned run average across 73 1/3 innings for the Nats last season. He hasn’t been much better at the Triple-A level, working to a 5.60 ERA over parts of four seasons.
