Phillies Add Lefty Aaron Loup To Bullpen Mix

Image credit: Aaron Loup (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)

In a minor move, the Phillies sent 24-year-old Jacob Waguespack, who entered the year as the team’s No. 29 prospect, to the Blue Jays for lefthander Aaron Loup, a serviceable middle reliever.

PHILLIES ACQUIRE:

Aaron Loup, LHP
Age: 30

Loup pitches primarily off a sinker and a cutter and is effective against lefties, who have hit .271/.333/.357 off him this year in 88 plate appearances. Overall, he has 42 strikeouts and 13 walks this season in 35.2 innings, with the Phillies likely to use him in left-on-left matchups.

BLUE JAYS ACQUIRE:

Jacob Waguespack, RHP
Age: 24

Waguespack is a fringe prospect, but he should pitch in the big leagues and his path to get to this point is unusual. He pitched in college at Mississippi as a reliever, then after his junior year signed with the Phillies for $25,000 as a non-drafted free agent. In his first two years as a reliever with the Phillies, Waguespack didn’t do anything to stick out as a future major leaguer, but in 2017 his fastball jumped from the low 90s up to 91-96 mph and reached 98 mph once the Phillies got the 6-foot-6 righthander to get his legs more into his delivery. By the end of May 2017, the Phillies moved him from the bullpen into a starter’s role, and while he has spent most of 2018 as a starter with Triple-A Lehigh Valley (where he has a 5.06 ERA in 53.1 innings with 48 strikeouts and 20 walks), his future role is likely back in the bullpen due to his lack of command and an out pitch.