Phillies Option Orion Kerkering to Triple-A After Two-Month Slide
Jun 25, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Orion Kerkering (50) throws to the Washington Nationals during the eighth inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-Imagn Images
After Saturday’s loss to the New York Mets in an important series, the Phillies optioned Orion Kerkering to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, ending a two-month slide that completely exhausted interim manager Don Mattingly‘s trust in him. Max Lazar was recalled. Kerkering is not eligible for the postseason roster.
The move comes with seven games left in the 2026 regular season and the NL Wild Card hanging in the balance. After the loss, the Phillies are a full game behind the Chicago Cubs and San Dego Padres for the second spot.
This season has been a tale of two halves for Kerkering; through July 20, he was 6-0 with a 2.33 ERA in 41 appearances, most of them in high-leverage moments. Since July 22, his ERA is 10.24 in 22 appearances, with 22 earned runs over 19-1/3 innings. He’s allowed a run in eight of his last nine outings, including four earned runs Saturday vs. the Mets.
The most high-profile collapses for Kerkering in that stretch were on July 31 in Baltimore, when he gave up four runs in the seventh and turned a two-run lead into a 6-4 loss. After a 5-2 loss against the Atlanta Braves on Sept. 4, Mattingly spoke on Kerkering’s role in the bullpen.
“I think you get to a point where you have to pick up on what you see, and maybe change that role a little bit,” Mattingly said.
His usage in subsequent games backed that up. Kerkering pitched only twice from Sept. 5 through Sept. 18. He also dealt with turf toe and wore a walking boot away from the ballpark, though he and Mattingly said it was behind him. However, he went to Chase Shugart in the 10th and 11th innings of a loss on Sept. 11, a spot that Kerkering occupied for most of the season. On Sept. 12, Kerkering walked three in 1-1/3 innings, backing up Mattingly’s decision. On Friday night against the Mets, he came in to a one-run game in the sixth and left an 0-1 sweeper over the heart of the plate and gave up a three-run home run to Juan Soto, en route to a 6-3 Phillies loss.
In the next game, Mattingly chose a low-stress eighth inning for Kerkering to come in and build confidence. With the Mets up 6-3, he just needed to eat an inning and throw strikes. He walked Brett Baty, hit Ronny Mauricio, walked Francisco Lindor, forcing in a run, then Soto, Bo Bichette and Carson Benge followed up with singles, giving him an ugly line of one inning, four hits, four earned runs and two walks. Mattingly met with Kerkering in his office after the game and said his concern level had been high. He explained the problem in simple terms.
“You have to be able to use him there in a game like that,” Mattingly said. “I’m not going to try and chase a three-run deficit in that inning. Yeah, it’s hard to find places to use him.”
With the bullpen being one of the recurring issues that the Phils have struggled with all season, this move to send Kerkering to Lehigh Valley makes the already questionable bullpen even thinner. Mattingly gave Kerkering chances to turn it around, but the calendar ran out. With seven games left, the Phillies sit a game behind the Cubs and Padres for the first Wild Card spot, and they still want to earn home-field advantage in a best-of-three series. The bullpen has no room for a pitcher Mattingly can’t find a place to use.
Steve Hamilton
Steve may have been born in California, but don’t let that fool you. After dating a local woman and clashing with her and her family over sports for decades, he has an affinity for Philly sports. Balancing love for Philly and Bay Area sports teams may seem impossible; we can all agree that the Cowboys are the true evil.
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