The Philadelphia Phillies entered their offseason in search of more stability for their rotation and they found it. Philadelphia has acquired Jeremy Hellickson from the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for prospect Sam McWilliams. The deal was first reported by CSN Philadelphia Phillies' insider Jim Salisbury.
Hellickson, 28, had an up-and-down season with the Diamondbacks last year, holding a 5.04 ERA before the All Star break and a 3.86 ERA after. He had a strong July, striking out 22 batters over 24 innings with a 1.88 ERA, but never finished another month with anything below a 4.50 ERA.
The right-handed pitcher was expected to make roughly $6 million in his final year of arbitration, but didn't really fit into the Diamondbacks' plans. Arizona wants to be a player for a major starting pitcher to help upgrade the top three of their rotation and had the depth to make Hellickson expendable, while dumping his salary.
Philadelphia gets a boost to their rotation that they needed, though Hellickson should only be the fourth guy in the rotation, as his ability has dropped off since a bright start to his career. In exchange for the major-league addition, the Phillies send right-handed McWilliams to Arizona.
McWilliams was the Phillies' eighth-round selection in 2014 and spent the 2015 season in the Gulf Coast League for the second year in a row. After allowing 15 runs in 25 innings there last year, he cut down that number in 2015 to 12 earned runs in 33 innings. The 20-year-old had a 21/5 K/BB ratio with a 1.03 WHIP and .232 opponent batting average allowed over seven starts this year.