Philadelphia Phillies Reliever Claimed off Waivers By Division Rivals

One of the Philadelphia Phillies former relievers has been claimed off waivers after he was designated for assignment.

Jul 27, 2023; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Michael Rucker (59) pitches against the St. Louis Cardinals in the ninth inning at Busch Stadium / Joe Puetz-Imagn Images

After a little bit of a rough stretch in the second half of the year, the Philadelphia Phillies bullpen has returned to their dominant form where they are shutting out opposing teams whenever they are called upon.

That is a good sign going forward as strong relief staffs are extremely important for teams looking to win a World Series.

This also allowed the Phillies to be comfortable with their decision to designated Michael Rucker for assignment back on Sept. 4 when they made some roster adjustments to get ready for the final stretch of the season into the playoffs.

Philadelphia acquired the right-hander this offseason in a deal with the Chicago Cubs where they landed him in exchange for cash considerations.

Rucker was never able to get things going with his new team, having been placed on the 15-day injured list before the year started with arterial vasospasm in his right hand. He was eventually transitioned to the 60-day designation on June 3 during his rehab process.

However, following being activated from the IL and assigned to their Triple-A affiliate, he struggled with a 7.04 ERA across his 19 appearances, giving up 37 hits and an opposing batting average of .356 across 23 innings pitched.

Rucker will have an opportunity to get his career back on track with one of the Phillies' division rivals.

According to Mark Zuckerman of MASN, the Washington Nationals have claimed the 30-year-old off waivers and cleared a spot on their 40-man roster for him. Although he was optioned to their own Triple-A team to start, he likely will have a shot to pitch in the Majors again if he can show improvement.