Phillies option reliever Orion Kerkering to Triple-A, call up Max Lazar

The Philadelphia Phillies optioned reliever Orion Kerkering to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Sunday due to his poor performance, as he posted an 18.69 ERA over four appearances this month. During Saturday's game against the New York Mets, Kerkering gave up four runs in the eighth inning of a 10-3 loss, prompting interim manager Don Mattingly’s concern about where and how to use him effectively going forward. Despite establishing himself as one of the Phillies' most reliable set-up men over the past two seasons with a 2.78 ERA, Kerkering's career was marred by a season-ending throwing error in Game 4 of the 2025 NL Division Series, where he threw the ball over catcher J.T. Realmuto’s head while attempting to force out Hyeseong Kim from the Los Angeles Dodgers, who then scored the winning run in their 2-1 victory. Kerkering had maintained a respectable ERA under 3.00 through July 28 but has struggled recently with a 10.80 ERA in his last 19 appearances.