Taijuan Walker

The deal is now official. Ross heads to Philadelphia to fill a versatile swingman-type role in addition to providing additional starting pitching depth behind fifth starters Jesus Luzardo and Taijuan Walker. The 31-year-old righty posted a respectable 3.77 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 66/29 K/BB ratio across 74 innings (25 appearances, 10 starts) last year for the Brewers in his return from Tommy John surgery. There isn't a ton of intrigue for fantasy purposes, but Ross figures to gobble up plenty of frames next year for the Phillies as a relief weapon.

Ross provides the Phillies with a capable swingman and insurance policy behind Jesus Luzardo and Taijuan Walker at the back-end of their rotation mix. The 31-year-old righty posted a respectable 3.77 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 66/29 K/BB ratio across 74 innings (25 appearances, 10 starts) last year for the Brewers in his return from Tommy John surgery.

The Phillies cash in one of their best prospects here in the hopes that Luzardo will stay healthy after a 2024 season in which he missed time early with elbow soreness and later was shut down for the year because of a stress reaction in his back. He's expected to have a normal spring, so for now anyway, the Phillies rotation is full, leaving Taijuan Walker apparently bullpen bound and Andrew Painter to toil in the minors for a spell. Luzardo was terrific in 2023, finishing with a 3.58 ERA and 208 strikeouts in 178 2/3 innings, and it looked like he had the potential to do even better going forward. The Phillies will have him for two seasons before he becomes eligible for free agency.