Why Phillies had no choice but to demote Orion Kerkering from MLB roster

The Philadelphia Phillies are trying to keep their postseason spot in the NL Wild Card, and with their recent struggles, there's a real chance the Phillies could miss the postseason.

The Arizona Diamondbacks aren't too far behind, and the Phillies cannot afford to struggle much going forward. That's why the Phillies have made a big decision Saturday night.

According to The Athletic's Matt Gelb, the Phillies are demoting Orion Kerkering to the minor leagues. Once a highly regarded reliever, Kerkering has struggled too much. He left the Phillies with no choice; they had to demote him.

"The Phillies demoted Kerkering to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, team sources said on the condition of anonymity to discuss a transaction that hasn't been announced yet," Gelb reports.

This was some major news for the Phillies, as Kerkering, once a staple of the Phillies' bullpen, has been demoted from the big-league roster as the team tries to secure a postseason spot.

At his peak, Kerkering was a fantastic reliever who could be trusted in high-leverage situations. But recently this season, he's been a complete liability, so much so that he gave the Phillies no choice but to send him to the minors.

In 24 games since the All-Star break, Kerkering has been one of the worst pitchers, let alone relievers, in all of MLB. Across 21 innings of work, Kerkering has walked 14 batters, struck out 22, and given up a 9.43 ERA.

While his 4.81 FIP indicates he's gotten some bad luck, that ridiculously high 9.43 ERA is too bad to ignore. The Phillies had to make a change.

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His numbers in his last 13 outings are a whole lot worse. He's gone 12.2 innings, walking eight and striking out 12, with a 10.66 ERA. In September, Kerkering has an 18.69 ERA with six walks and six strikeouts in four outings.

Kerkering's struggles recently are too glaring to ignore, and the Phillies have finally made a change. He's being sent down to the minors, despite the Triple-A season just one game away from ending.

He'll work out in Triple-A, trying to fix some things just in case he's called back up for the postseason, if the Phillies make it there.

But for now, the Phillies have moved on from Kerkering. He gave them no other options with how poorly he's played recently. It's unfortunate, but this move had to be made.