You never know what pieces of a roster you might find on the waiver wire. When the Phillies went over the latest cuts they came upon a big – 6′ 4″, 255 pounds – right-hander who posted a 3.30 ERA in 30 innings with the Kansas City Royals last season. While his career stats are questionable the fact that Carlos Hernandez throws 98 miles-per-hour and put up the best numbers of his career last season, the Phillies were smart to grab him off waivers.

Early in his career, the Royals used Hernandez as a starter and reliever but last season used him exclusively out of the bullpen. In 150 MLB games – 25 of which were starts – Hernandez has an ERA of 4.95 with all of his games being with Kansas City.

The addition of Hernandez brought a proverbial pink slip to Tyler Phillips, who was designated for assignment to clear a roster spot. The 27-year-0ld was 4-1 with a 6.87 ERA in 7 starts and 1 relief appearance with the Phillies. One of his starts was a complete game shutout against Cleveland last July in only his third major league start. In his next three starts, Phillips threw just 11 innings and posted a 13.91 ERA in those games.

Earlier in the day, Michael Mercado was optioned to AAA Lehigh Valley, which signals that lefty Matt Strahm will be physically ready to open the season with the Phillies. There was some question whether Strahm would start the season on the IL.

The Phillies eight-man bullpen will have left-handers Jose Alvarado, Tanner Banks, and Strahm to go along with right-handers Jordan Romano, Orion Kerkering, Jose Ruiz, Joe Ross and Hernandez.