Philadelphia Phillies: 2 former pitchers having very different years with the Rangers

Both members of the ill-fated 2021 Philadelphia Phillies, Spencer Howard and Matt Moore are teammates with the Texas Rangers in 2022. Howard was traded there in the middle of 2021 in the deal that brought us Kyle Gibson and Ian Kennedy. Moore ended up with them in the offseason on a free agent deal.

Neither was very good for the Phillies. Howard, the prized pitching prospect, was 0-2 with a 5.72 ERA in 28.1 innings of work in Philadelphia. Moore, the veteran they gambled on, went 2-4 with a 6.29 ERA in 73 frames. Each bounced between the rotation and bullpen.

Now with the Rangers who are fighting to stay relevant this season, they’re having very different campaigns.

Former Phillies pitchers Spencer Howard and Matt Moore are having very different 2022 seasons.

Do you want the good news or the bad news first? Let’s start with the good news. The Phillies look very smart for trading Howard.

After a pair of starts and two more relief appearances this year, Howard is 0-1 with a 10.97 ERA. This comes in 10.2 innings of work. Combined with his disastrous season for the Rangers last year following the trade, Howard is now 0-4 for Texas with a 10.13 ERA after 32 innings.

Things couldn’t be much worse for Howard right now. Although successful as a starter in the minor leagues as high as Triple-A, the next phase of his career might be a full transition into the bullpen. After this many opportunities, it’s clear he just doesn’t have the “it” factor.

The story for Moore is quite the opposite. It could be because he is a starting pitcher whose biggest folly early on in his career were all of the injuries. There was a time a decade ago when Moore was a promising young lefty for the Tampa Bay Rays. He even won 17 games in 2013 in only 27 starts.

Injuries got in the way and in the years after Moore bounced around and eventually landed with the 2021 Phillies. This year, with the Rangers, he looks like a much different pitcher.

Working exclusively in relief, Moore is 32 with a 1.98 ERA in 26 appearances spanning 36.1 innings of work. He has averaged 10.2 strikeouts per nine as well. It hasn’t been all perfect as Moore’s control can be an issue. The 5.2 walks per nine signal that his ERA could soon be in danger.

Two rather forgettable members of last year’s Phillies team are experiencing totally different seasons with the 2022 Rangers. While Moore looks like he may have found a new niche for himself, Howard is going to have a tough time staying in the major leagues.