Phillies trade Alec Asher to Baltimore
CLEARWATER, Fla. — The Phillies cleared an important spot on their 40-man roster Tuesday by trading righthanded pitcher Alec Asher to the Baltimore Orioles for a player to be named.
Asher, 25, became expendable as the Phillies collected upper-level pitching prospects with similar profiles. He came to the Phillies from Texas as part of the Cole Hamels trade in 2015.
The Phillies face a roster crunch and have a need to add at least one non-roster player for the bench. That 40-man roster spot could go to Brock Stassi or Daniel Nava. It's likely the Phillies will clear another roster spot this week.
Asher had a 5.88 ERA in 12 games with the Phillies over the last two seasons. He was suspended 80 games last season for testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs.