The Philadelphia Phillies reportedly signed Tucker Davidson to an MiLB deal.
The Philadelphia Phillies quietly need to address their pitching depth, especially with Ranger Suarez still a free agent and Zack Wheeler’s health for the 2026 season still up in the air.
The front office made a minor move on Tuesday to address that need and signed left-handed pitcher Tucker Davidson to a minor league deal for the 2026 season, per The Athletic’s Will Sammon.
Davidson was originally a 19th-round pick of the Atlanta Braves in the 2016 MLB amateur draft. He made his big-league debut with Philadelphia’s National League East rival in 2020.
Over the next four seasons, Davidson pitched for three more teams over the next four years including the Los Angeles Angels, the Kansas City Royals, and the Baltimore Orioles. The 29-year-old owns a 5.76 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP in 56 career appearances.
Davidson’s last full season in MLB came in 2023, when he made 38 appearances with the Angels. The left-hander did a nice job of limiting hard contact, but his poor strikeout and whiff rate hurt him at times.
After the 2024 season, Davidson traveled overseas to participate in the KBO and actually logged some impressive numbers. He had a 3.65 ERA, 1.386 WHIP, 8.7 SO9 in 22 appearances. The intriguing number in this stat line is that all of Davidson’s appearances were starts; he logged 123.1 innings.
May 25, 2022; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Detailed view of a Philadelphia Phillies hat and glove in the dugout against the Atlanta Braves in the eighth inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn ImagesIt’ll be interesting to see what type of role the Phillies have in store for Davidson as he enters the organization. Before heading to the KBO, he had only made 17 starts at the big-league level, with the majority of those coming in the early years of his career.
The KBO is obviously not on the same level as MLB, but the 29-year-old still reminded everyone that he can pitch for length and provide a team with multiple innings of work.
The Phillies' signing of Davidson to a deal is a very low-risk move, but could be a productive addition later in the season if Philadelphia is looking for a spot start or simply an innings eater to come out of the bullpen.