Andrew

Bellatti

Bellatti was removed from the 40-man roster in early February and will start the season in the minor leagues. He and Ruiz will give the Phillies organization reliever depth in the upper minors.

Bellatti was bumped from the team’s 40-man roster last week, but he passed through waivers unclaimed and will continue to function as extra pitching depth for the Phillies. He’ll be in major league camp as a non-roster invitee.

Bellatti is losing his roster spot to a similar talent in Michael Rucker after following up a strong 2022 (3.31 ERA, 78 K in 54 1/3 IP) with a rough 2023 (5.11 ERA in 24 2/3 IP) in which he spent half of the season in the minors. We’d still rather take our chances with Bellatti, but it might have swayed the Phillies that Rucker has an option remaining and Bellatti doesn’t.

The move comes after Bellatti gave up a couple of runs on solo homers in 1 2/3 innings in the first game of the doubleheader against the Braves. That left him with a 5.11 ERA in 24 2/3 innings this season.

Bellatti returns to the Phillies bullpen on Saturday. The 32-year-old journeyman has a 5.06 ERA and 1.50 WHIP across 19 appearances with Philadelphia this season.

Bellatti heads back to the minors with setup specialist Seranthony Domínguez returning from the injured list prior to Tuesday’s contest against the Orioles. The 31-year-old righty has made 19 relief appearances this season in the majors.

Bellatti returns to the Phillies bullpen on Sunday. The 31-year-old struggled out of the gate this season but has pitched well at Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He posted a 1.20 ERA and 1.00 WHIP in 17 appearances before rejoining the Phillies.

Bellatti has been shipped to the minors to free up a spot for newly-acquired reliever Dylan Covey on Philadelphia’s active roster. The 31-year-old righty holds a serviceable 5.68 ERA, 1.66 WHIP and 14/9 K/BB ratio across 12 2/3 innings (15 appearances) this season.

Bellatti struck out four in two scoreless innings on his rehab assignment. He was a big help to the Phillies in the sixth and seventh innings last year, but he had a 6.23 ERA in 8 2/3 innings this season before landing on the IL.

Bellatti will make his next rehab outing for Triple-A Lehigh Valley sometime this upcoming week and should be able to return to the Phillies’ bullpen sometime before the end of May. He’s been out since late April due to right triceps tendinitis.