Connor Brogdon traded to the Dodgers for left-handed reliever Benony Robles

WASHINGTON — Right-handed reliever Connor Brogdon was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for left-handed reliever Benony Robles, the Phillies announced on Saturday.

Brogdon, 29, had been designated for assignment by the Phillies on April 2, the day after allowing a 10th-inning grand slam homer in a 6-3 loss to the Reds. In a total of two innings across three games, he had allowed six earned runs. Brogdon has been placed on the Dodgers’ 40-man roster.

Robles, 23, is from the Dominican Republic. He is coming off a strong season, after pitching in a career-high 33 games for high-A Dodgers affiliate Great Lakes, posting a 3.86 ERA over 32⅔ innings. He has some starting experience but has been used primarily as a reliever over the past three seasons. He has a 4.67 ERA over five minor league seasons, with 134 walks and 277 strikeouts. When the Dodgers signed him in 2017, he was throwing 84-86 mph. Now, he is more in the mid-to-high-90s range.

He throws three pitches: a slider, a changeup, and a cutter. Robles has good extension and is a tough look for left-handed hitters, but has struggled to get right-handed hitters out.

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Robles induces a lot of swing-and-miss. He struck out 38.7% of the batters he faced at high-A in 2023, after striking out 21.6% of the batters he faced at single-A the year before. He has struggled with his control, which is part of what has kept him from advancing to the upper levels of the minor leagues. His upper half and lower half can get disconnected at times, which has hurt his timing and has led to more pitches out of the zone. He posted an 11.5% walk rate in 2022 and a 13.9% walk rate in 2023.

Brogdon had been struggling since his dominant outings in the 2022 World Series, and spent the second half of the 2023 season at triple-A Lehigh Valley. He was struggling to maintain proper mechanics consistently. His velocity dropped a few ticks, from 96-97 mph in 2022 to 92-93 mph in 2023, and he struggled with his control. Brogdon was drafted in the 10th round by the Phillies in 2017 and spent parts of the past five seasons with the big league club, posting a 3.88 ERA over 144 innings.

Taijuan Walker (right shoulder soreness) threw three innings (46 pitches) of live batting practice on Saturday morning at Nationals Park. Thomson said Walker was clocked at about 90 mph, which he was happy with, considering the cold weather.

“[It was] good,” Thomson said. “The stuff was OK. Three innings, 46 pitches. A lot of soft contact, a lot of swings-and-misses, fastball averaged about 90, which on a day like today, isn’t too bad. It was a little encouraging.”

The Phillies are going to see how Walker feels when he comes in on Sunday, and based on that, decide whether he needs another live BP before going on a rehab assignment.

Orion Kerkering (right forearm strain) had a great outing on Friday night in single-A Clearwater, retiring four of the five Bradenton hitters he faced with four strikeouts. The other batter was hit by a pitch. The Phillies would like to have him go “pitch off pitch” before he returns to the big league club — meaning pitching with just one day off between outings. He’ll pitch Tuesday, take off on Wednesday, and pitch on Thursday. He could be back with the Phillies by Saturday.

There was some big news on Saturday within the division: The Braves announced that right-handed pitcher Spencer Strider underwent an MRI, which revealed damage to his ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his right elbow. He is going to undergo further evaluation by Dr. Keith Meister in Arlington, Texas.

It’s unclear whether Strider will need Tommy John surgery, but if he does, it’ll be the second time he’s undergone the procedure. Strider had Tommy John surgery in 2019 when he was in college at Clemson.