Phillies Land Lefty Loup to Boost Bullpen

The Phillies made a total of three trades in advance of the 4:00 p.m. July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.  They first picked up infielder Asdrubal Cabrera from the New York Mets.  Then, the Phillies traded with the Tampa Bay Rays to add catcher Wilson Ramos.  They made one more deal on Tuesday afternoon to add a bullpen lefty.

The Phillies announced that they have acquired reliever Aaron Loup  from the Toronto Blue Jays just before 4:00 p.m.  In exchange the Phillies sent right-handed pitching prospect Jacob Waguespack, currently at Triple-A Lehigh Valley.  The move meant that left-handed Zac Curtis was designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster.

Loup is in the final year of his rookie contract with the Toronto Blue Jays.  Loup made his major league debut in 2012 and has appeared in 369 games, all in relief.  Loup has a career 3.47 earned run average but has a 4.54 earned run average in 50 appearances this season.  Lefties were batting .271 this season against Loup.

Waguespack was 3-5 with a 5.06 earned run average at Triple-A Lehigh Valley and 1-1 with a 3.99 earned run average for Double-A Reading.  Waguespack has mostly started this season, but has relief appearances mixed in bouncing back and forth between Double-A and Triple-A.  Combined he is 4-6 with a 4.56 earned run average in 21 games, including 15 starts.

It is unclear if the Phillies will subtract either lefty Adam Morgan or Austin Davis from their big league roster.  Morgan is out of minor league options, while Davis can be sent to the minor leagues.  The Phillies will likely wait to make a move until after the club leaves Boston.

Infielder Trevor Plouffe was also designated for assignment to clear 40-man roster space.  That will leave the Phillies with just Odubel Herrera and Andrew Knapp on the bench for tonight's game in Boston.  However, with a designated hitter in Boston, the risk is minimized tonight.

The Phillies could make another move for a bench piece tomorrow.  J.P. Crawford is on the mend and could re-join the Phillies soon.