The Phillies have liberated reliever Brandon Kintzler, according to the MLB.com transactions tracker. That was the forecasted outcome after the ex-serviceman right-hander was designated for assignment over the weekend. Kintzler has well over five years of MLB service time, so he’d have had the right to reject an outright allocation in favour of free busines while retaining the remainder of his salary. With that in recollection, the Phils patently really decided to place him on liberation waivers. Once he clears, Kintzler will be free to sign anywhere of his choosing.

Kintzler was non-tendered by the Marlins over the winter despite a productive 2020 safarus serving as Miami’s closer. The 37 -year-old signed a minor league deal with the Phillies that came with a$ 3MM base salary if he made the club out of Spring Training. He bet on himself, turning down guaranteed agreements that would’ve come with a lower wage and eventually made good on that decision, earning a season-opening spot in the Phils bullpen.

While Kintzler has generally been a productive reliever over the course of his job, that hasn’t been the case so far in 2021. The sinkerballer controlled only a 6.37 ERA across 29 2/3 innings in Philadelphia. Kintzler’s still racking up grounders at a very high clip( 58.2% ), but he’s nevertheless been tagged for seven home runs.

That’s the result of a exceptionally high 29.2% HR/ FB proportion that’s more than double Kintzler’s occupation symbol of 13.2%. Given his generally solid track record, Kintzler should find interest from other teams on bush league arrangements. If a few cases more batted projectiles die in the outfield grass as opposed to clearing the barriers, it’s possible he could bounce back towards his more frequently steady form.

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