Phillies Demote Reliever Orion Kerkering After Recent Struggles

Kerkering Sent Down

The Philadelphia Phillies have decided to option reliever Orion Kerkering to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. This move comes after a tough run for the right-hander, who posted an 18.69 ERA in his four appearances this month.

His latest struggle happened in Saturday's 10-3 loss against the New York Mets. Kerkering gave up four runs in the eighth inning. Following that game, interim manager Don Mattingly shared his concerns. Mattingly said, "You have to be able to use him there in a game like that. Not going to try to chase a three-run deficit in that inning. It's hard to find places to use him."

From Reliable Setup Man to Recent Slump

This is a major shift for the 25-year-old, who was previously one of the team's most reliable setup men. Over the last two seasons, Kerkering went 13-7 with a 2.78 ERA and recorded four saves.

However, his struggles began to show. He made a costly season-ending throwing error in the 11th inning of Game 4 of the 2025 National League Division Series. In that play, he threw the ball over the head of the catcher while trying to force out Hyeseong Kim, who scored the winning run in a 2-1 victory for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Kerkering started this season strong, recording a 2.03 ERA in his first 29 games, and kept his ERA below 3.00 until late July. Since then, his form has dropped. He is 1-1 with a 10.80 ERA and just one save over his last 19 games. To fill his spot, the Phillies have called up right-hander Max Lazar from Lehigh Valley.