The Philadelphia Phillies have a few roster battles to sort through, one of which is their bullpen. There may only be one open spot up for grabs by the end of the spring.
One of those candidates will start for the Phillies when they begin their exhibition game slate on Saturday against the Detroit Tigers in Lakeland, Fla.
Nabil Crismatt will make the start and throw two innings against the Tigers at Joker Marchant Stadium, per NBC Sports Philadelphia.
The 30-year-old right-hander from Colombia signed with the Phillies in December and received a Major League spring training invite along with his minor league deal.
Crismatt had a wild 2024. He signed a minor-league deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers, was called up from Triple-A in late March and was designated for assignment the next day. He cleared waivers, went back to Triple-A and was called up one other time, spent three weeks with the Dodgers and was designated for assignment, again. This time, he opted for free agency.
The Dodgers were the only team he played for the Majors last season, as he went 1-1 with a 2.57 ERA in five games in relief, as he struck out six and walked none in seven innings.
He later signed minor-league deals with the Texas Rangers and the San Diego Padres before he opted for free agency in November. He spent part of the winter playing for Gigantes del Cibao in the Dominican Winter League.
Crismatt started his professional career in 2012 when he signed with the New York Mets out of Colombia. He bounced around to three other organizations before he finally got his first MLB promotion with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2020.
After the Cardinals released him, he landed with the Padres for nearly three seasons. San Diego designated him for assignment, and he signed a deal with Arizona for the remainder of that season. He was not a part of the Diamondbacks’ postseason run.
He has 114 Major League appearances, 102 of which were with the Padres. He is 9-6 with a 3.71 ERA with 162 strikeouts and 54 walks in 177 innings.
Alan Rangel, a right-hander, is expected to take the next two innings after Crismatt is done.
Crismatt has a lot of work ahead of his. Pitchers like former starter Taijuan Walker, Max Lazar, Devin Sweet, Jose Cuas, Michael Mercado, Kyle Tyler, Koyo Aoyagi and Nick Vespi are up for the final bullpen spot.
