Phillies select contract of Hutchison, designate Rupp for assignment

By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor

With spring training camp set to break on Tuesday, final Philadelphia Phillies roster additions and subtractions continue to be made ahead of Thursday's Opening Day at SunTrust Park.

One of the inevitable moves for manager Gabe Kapler and the club was to decide the fate of catcher Cameron Rupp, who played in 296 games with the club from 2013-2017. With Jorge Alfaro and Andrew Knapp set to open the season as the starting and backup catchers, it appeared Rupp's time with the Phillies was coming to an end.

The club confirmed that notion on Sunday, by designating Rupp for assignment to make room for the contract selection of non-roster invitee RHP Drew Hutchison on the 40-man roster.

Hutchison, 27, made a good case for a roster spot in his road start against the Detroit Tigers on Saturday, tossing four shutout innings with just one hit and three walks allowed. The right-hander went 2-0 with a 2.75 ERA, 17 strikeouts and a 1.02 WHIP through six games and 19 2/3 innings this spring.

With Hutchison stretched out, it is not known if he will start the season as a back-end-of-the-rotation starting pitcher, or rather a long reliever, similar to the role filled by LHP Adam Morgan the last few seasons. The four-year veteran last played in a Major League game with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2016.

Rupp, 29, hit just .189 in 37 at-bats this spring with one home run and two RBI. The Phillies and Rupp avoided arbitration in January agreeing to a one-year, $2.05 million contract. If Rupp goes unclaimed through the waiver wire, he will likely head to Triple-A Lehigh Valley to start the season.

Rupp hit .234/.298/.407 with 57 doubles, 39 home runs and 124 RBI with the Phillies from 2013-2017.

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