The Philadelphia Phillies made a pair of minor league roster adjustments Friday while hosting the Tampa Bay Rays in the final series of the regular season.
The club activated right-handers Chuck King and Drake Fellows from the development list with Triple-A Lehigh Valley. The IronPigs’ season has already ended, so the moves carry little immediate on-field impact for the big-league club.
Philadelphia dropped the series opener 2-0 on Friday night and entered Saturday’s 7:15 p.m. game at Citizens Bank Park with an 87-73 record. That mark placed the Phillies third in the National League Wild Card standings, one game ahead of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Arizona holds the tiebreaker should the teams finish even.
The Phillies would open the postseason on the road against Atlanta if the season ended now.
King, 28, signed a minor league deal with Philadelphia in February 2024 after pitching at TCU. He reached Double-A in his first professional season and spent all of 2025 there. This year marked his first trip to Triple-A.
King posted a 4.55 ERA across 132 2/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A in 2026. His career minor league numbers include a 4.39 ERA and 255 strikeouts in 297 1/3 innings.
Fellows was originally selected by San Diego in the sixth round of the 2019 draft out of Vanderbilt. The Padres later traded him to Pittsburgh.
He became a free agent after the 2025 season, signed with the Yankees, was released, and joined the Phillies on a minor league contract in May. Fellows went 5-4 with a 5.62 ERA in 83 1/3 innings for Lehigh Valley this season.
The low-profile transactions arrived as the Phillies try to lock down a playoff berth in their last three games. Philadelphia’s offense has sputtered at times down the stretch, including the shutout loss Friday.
Manager Don Mattingly’s club still controls its destiny with two games remaining against Tampa Bay.
The Rays entered the series with one of the American League’s stronger records. Saturday’s contest airs on FOX. Sunday’s series finale is scheduled for 3:05 p.m.
These development-list activations typically help organizations manage 40-man and minor league roster limits after the affiliate schedule wraps up. King and Fellows remain organizational depth rather than immediate major league options.
Philadelphia’s pitching staff has dealt with injuries and inconsistency late in the year. The team ranks near the middle of the pack in team ERA.
Front office decisions now focus more on October roster construction than September call-ups. The Phillies have already used several September additions. Further moves remain possible before the postseason begins.
King’s strikeout rate has been a consistent positive throughout his professional career. Fellows has shown flashes but has battled command issues at the Triple-A level. Neither pitcher is expected to factor into this weekend’s games.
The organization simply cleared administrative items while the major league club prepared for a must-win stretch.
Philadelphia’s remaining schedule offers little margin for error. A sweep of the Rays would strengthen their Wild Card position. Anything less keeps the Diamondbacks and other clubs in striking distance.
Fans at Citizens Bank Park will watch a team still fighting for October baseball. The two roster notes barely registered amid that larger story.
