PHILADELPHIA -- The Phillies acquired an outfielder, added a bulk arm to the roster and shook up their bullpen in a flurry of moves prior to Saturday night's game against the Yankees at Citizens Bank Park.
The first move came earlier in the day when they acquired outfielder Kameron Misner from the Royals in exchange for cash considerations. The left-handed-hitting outfielder was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, while fellow outfielder Steward Berroa was designated for assignment to clear a spot on the 40-man roster.
Misner has excelled in the Minors, putting up a .941 OPS with 14 home runs and 14 stolen bases in 63 games with Triple-A Omaha this season. Overall, he has 90 homers and 143 steals over seven Minor League seasons -- but it has yet to translate to the big league level.
The 28-year-old Misner has hit just .206 with five homers and a .571 OPS in 97 Major League games over parts of three seasons with the Rays and Royals. He was selected in the first round of the 2019 Draft by the Marlins, who were managed at the time by Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly.
"He's a big, physical kid -- can run, play the outfield, has power," Mattingly said. "Obviously, has had a lot more success in Triple-A at this point than he has in the big leagues. But it's a left-handed bat that we know can defend, play all three spots in the outfield."
Though one of the Phillies' biggest Trade Deadline needs is a right-handed bat to help with their struggles against left-handed pitching, Misner still provides much-needed outfield depth for the time being.
The other moves, meanwhile, will have more of an immediate impact.
The Phillies selected the contract of right-hander Brian Keller, who will follow opener Tim Mayza on Saturday night. The 32-year-old Keller will be making his MLB debut after posting a 2.23 ERA in eight starts with Triple-A Lehigh Valley this season.
Prior to this season, Keller last pitched professionally in Japan in 2023. Despite some success in the Minors to that point, he opted to take his career overseas, only to sustain an elbow injury after just three appearances. Keller ultimately underwent Tommy John surgery, which sidelined him for all of 2024 and '25.
Keller wasn't the only fresh arm added to the roster on Saturday, though.
The Phillies also recalled left-hander Kyle Backhus from Lehigh Valley. He was optioned earlier this month after putting up a 5.87 ERA in 17 big league appearances this season.
To clear spots for Keller and Backhus, the Phillies optioned right-handers Max Lazar and Alex McFarlane -- the club's No. 19 prospect who tossed a scoreless inning Wednesday in his MLB debut -- to the IronPigs.
Backhus rejoins a Phillies bullpen that has struggled to get consistent production from its left-handed relievers this season. With the left-handed Mayza serving as an opener Saturday, José Alvarado would have been the only other left-handed available prior to the Backhus move.
“Just another lefty," Mattingly said. "For a team like [the Yankees], you want to be able to mix and match more. It gives us another option down there because the days that you may only have one -- if we've used José Alvarado a couple days in a row, now we’ve only got one lefty -- this just gives you another guy that hopefully can get lefties out.”