The Philadelphia Phillies came back from five games behind the New York Mets last season to win 96 games â second most in baseball â and win the National League East by 13 games. But when it came to the postseason, the Phillies crashed out in the Division Series, falling to the eventual World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers 3-1.
What happened? As with any loss, it’s impossible to reduce the causes to one factor. But one extremely important problem was that Philadelphia entered the postseason without their ace three-time All-Star right-hander Zack Wheeler.
The 35-year-old Wheeler was 10-5 with a 2.70 ERA and 195 strikeouts in 149 2/3 innings when, on August 16, the Phillies placed him on the injured list with a frightening condition â a blood clot near his right shoulder.
The condition required a procedure known as thrombolysis, a surgery to remove the blood clot. But Wheeler also required a second procedure, thoracic outlet decompression surgery, and though the Phillies have reported that the surgery went well, Wheeler’s timetable for a return may still keep him out for at least part of the 2026 season.
Phillies Add to Depth to Fill Rotation Vacancy
The Phillies have not added a regular starter who could fill Wheeler’s spot in an otherwise stellar rotation that led the NL, and was second in MLB in ERA last season (3.53). But on Tuesday, the Phillies added to their pitching depth by coming to an agreement to sign a former Atlanta Braves top-10 prospect who started a game in the 2021 World Series won by the Braves.
Tucker Davidson, now 29, was not a highly touted prospect coming out of Midland College in Texas . The Braves waited until the 19th round to call his name.
But after posting some eye-opening minor league numbers, including a 2.15 ERA with 134 strikeouts in 129 2/3 innings in 2019, Davidson got his first big league call-up in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, followed by another brief stint with the big club in 2021.
Heading into 2022, Davidson was ranked as the No. 8 prospect in the Braves organization by MLB Pipeline.
Davidson Spent Most of 2025 in Korea
Davidson, who was reportedly signed to a minor league contract according to MLB correspondent Will Sammon of The Athletic, brings postseason experience to the Phillies â a team that fully expects to get to the playoffs for the fifth year in a row.
The Braves gave Davidson the start in Game 5, and it didn’t exactly go great. Manager Brian Snitker pulled his starter just two batters into the third inning after he surrendered two runs on four hits and three walks in the first two frames.
Atlanta lost that game to the Houston Astros , but won Game 6 and the World Series, four games to two.
After that, however, the Braves traded Davidson to the Dodgers in a package for Raisel Iglesias in 2022, and since then Davidson has pitched for three Major League teams before heading to the Korean Baseball Organization for 2025, where he pitched for the Lotte Giants .
Despite a solid season with 22 starts , a 3.65 ERA, a 22.5 percent strikeout rate, a 9.1 percent walk rate and a 46.4 percent ground ball rate, the Giants cut him in August.
Davidson spent the rest of the season in the Milwaukee Brewers organization before he was released on October 12. Now, he hopes to find a place with the reigning NL East pennant-winners, though it remains unclear whether his minor league contract comes with an invitation to big league spring training.
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