The Phillies have announced that they had signed right-hander to a major league contract. Their 40-man roster expands to 39. Salary figures have not been disclosed.
The decision to offer a big league deal comes as a mild surprise given how the 2025 season unfolded. He spent much of the year moving between organizations. After beginning the season with Toronto, he was released shortly after Opening Day. He later resurfaced in the majors with Seattle, making four appearances, and also logged a single outing with New York. Across those brief stints, he struggled to keep runs off the board, surrendering 12 runs, 11 of them earned, in only 6 2/3 innings. Those results raised his career ERA to 4.88 through 162 1/3 innings over five seasons at the major league level.
While his time in the majors was rocky, Zach Pop’s minor league performance offered reasons for optimism. He appeared in 20 games at the Triple A level and posted a 4.19 ERA over 19 1/3 innings. More encouraging were the underlying indicators. He struck out more than 25 percent of opposing hitters while keeping his walk rate at a reasonable 8.9 percent. His heavy sinker, which regularly sat between 96 and 97 miles per hour, generated an elite ground-ball rate of roughly 75 percent. That skill has long been a defining part of his profile, as evidenced by a career ground-ball rate of 55 percent in the majors.
The organization clearly saw enough in the raw stuff to use one of its remaining roster spots. If Pop holds onto his place on the 40-man roster through Spring Training, he will enter camp competing for a middle relief role. However, his situation comes with added pressure. He has used up all of his minor league options, meaning he cannot be sent to the minors without first passing through waivers.
The bullpen picture is already fairly crowded. Six relief roles appear spoken for if everyone remains healthy heading into the season. Jhoan Duran, Brad Keller, José Alvarado, Tanner Banks, and Jonathan Bowlan, who is also out of options, are considered locks. Orion Kerkering is also widely expected to make the roster barring an unexpectedly poor spring. That leaves Pop and Rule 5 selection Zach McCambley in a precarious spot, as both must remain on the active roster or be removed from the 40-man, with McCambley needing to be offered back to Miami if he clears waivers.