Thursday, October 1, 2026
79 ° Clear
79 ° Clear
The Phillies reportedly are calling up journeyman outfielder Bryan De La Cruz according to MLB Insider Mike Rodriguez.
With the Phillies slated to face a handful of left-handed pitchers this week, it makes sense that right-handed outfielder will return to the big leagues.
The 29-year-old is on the team’s 40-man roster after signing a minor league contract with the team in early November after putting together a monstrous season in the Dominican Winter League with the Toros del Este where he hit .301 with an .888 OPS, eight homers and drove in 40 runs in 46 games, enough to be named league MVP.
On the season, La Cruz is hitting .274 with a .754 OPS in 308 at-bats with the IronPigs, but against left-handed pitching he’s hit to the tune of .313 with an .889 OPS with two homers and eight RBIs in 55 plate appearances.
De La Cruz has spent parts of five seasons in MLB, most recently with the Atlanta Braves last season. In 16 games he hit .191 (9-for-47) with a double. He started his career with the Miami Marlins playing with the fellow NL East squad from 2021-24 before being traded to the Pirates at the deadline in 2024.
He is a career .258 hitter at the big league level with a .724 OPS in over 1,600 plate appearances. Against lefties, he’s a career .311 hitter with a .697 OPS in 506 plate appearances.
The Phillies need to see if De La Cruz could be worth keeping before the August 3 trade deadline. He will have a small runway to prove he’s worth keeping on the 40-man as a depth outfielder. Phillies reportedly calling up outfielder Bryan De La Cruz
