The Phillies made a small transaction on Saturday morning, claiming right-handed pitcher Freddy Tarnok off waivers from the Oakland Athletics. Tarnok was optioned to triple A Lehigh Valley and added to the 40-man roster. To make room on the 40-man, right-handed pitcher Dylan Covey was transferred to the 60-day injured list.
Tarnok, 25, made his big league debut in August 2022 with the Atlanta Braves. He was optioned shortly after and traded to the A’s in December of 2022 as part of the deal that sent Sean Murphy to Atlanta.
He pitched to a 1.66 ERA over 21.2 innings in 2023 with the A’s organization, but spent much of that year on the injured list. Tarnok was placed on the 60-day injured list in April of 2023 with a strained right shoulder, and was placed on the 15-day injured list in August with a right calf strain.
He was placed on the 60-day injured list, again, in May of 2024 with right hip inflammation, but was recently reinstated off the list. He was ranked No. 13 on MLB.com’s A’s top prospects list entering this season.
Tarnok has pitched to a 13.50 ERA across 7.1 rehab outings with the triple A Las Vegas. He throws hard, but has struggled with his control. Tarnok posted a 13.9% walk rate with triple A Las Vegas last year, and a 11.4% with them this year.
“I guess he’s got a good arm,” said manager Rob Thomson of Tarnok. “I guess we like his arm, big time velocity. He’ll go to triple A and we’ll see what we’ve got.”
Tarnok has two minor league options and has experience pitching out of the bullpen and the rotation. He has a 4.10 ERA across 406 1/3 innings pitched in the minor leagues, with 436 strikeouts and 169 walks.
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Sosa to outfield a possibility
Edmundo Sosa has spent only 5 1/3 big league innings in the outfield, but could be spending more time there whenever Turner returns. Sosa, who is filling in for Turner as he works back from injury, has hit .307/.378/.591 over his last 30 games. When asked how he would keep Sosa in the lineup when Turner returns, Thomson didn’t brush off the possibility of him playing the outfield.
“Absolutely [a possibility],” Thomson said. “If he keeps hitting like this, it’s going to be tough to keep him out of the lineup. So, got to find a spot for him someplace.”
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Thomson said that if this does happen, Sosa would like play one of the corner outfield spots. He added that Sosa would need to get some extra work in with first base coach Paco Figueroa ahead of time. If Sosa moves to the outfield, the Phillies would like him to get about a week’s worth of shagging balls during BP.
Thomson said that the Phillies are “not there yet” with such a move for Sosa, but it is a possibility.
Turner update
Trea Turner, who is still recovering from a left hamstring strain, continued his rehab on Saturday afternoon.
“We did some change of direction,” Thomson said. “He ran, took some ground balls, moved him around a little bit. He’s going to hit in the cage, probably just the cage. He usually doesn’t hit outside. He’s coming along fine.”
It is unclear if Turner will accompany the team to London next weekend.
