Phillies Release David Buchanan

While he held a 40-man roster spot for the complete duration of the 2016 season, the Phillies chose not to promote pitcher David Buchanan to the Major Leagues, despite being short on pitching down the stretch.   With the Rule 5 draft looming, the Phillies designated Buchanan's contract for assignment on Friday.  Instead of outrighting Buchanan to the minor leagues, the Phillies announced that they have given Buchanan his outright release.

Buchanan his Major League debut in 2014 and made 20 mostly-successful starts for the Phillies.  In 20 games in 2014, Buchanan went 6-8 with a 3.75 earned run average.   Turning the calendar to 2015, Buchanan failed to recapture his rookie season form; Buchanan went 2-9 with a 6.99 earned run average in 15 starts.

In 2016, Buchanan made two Spring Training starts before being sent to minor league camp.  Buchanan then spent the entire duration of the 2016 at Triple-A Lehigh Valley, going 10-9 with a 3.98 earned run average.

In 35 starts in his Phillies career, Buchanan went 8-17 with a 5.01 earned run average.