The Philadelphia Phillies have been looking for additional outfield depth after injuries depleted the position in recent weeks.
Starting right fielder Adolis GarcÃa was ruled out for the remainder of the season after suffering a lat injury that required surgery. Johan Rojas, who had been working his way back from an 80-game suspension, also experienced a setback when he underwent an internal brace procedure to repair an elbow injury.
To reinforce the outfield, the Phillies acquired Derek Hill from the Chicago White Sox and have given Gabriel Rincones Jr. an opportunity to play right field. However, Dylan Carlson will not be part of the club’s plans at the major league level.
According to Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer on X, the Phillies have released Carlson from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Carlson, a former first-round selection by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2016 MLB Draft, is now a free agent in search of his next opportunity.
Carlson’s release is not particularly unexpected considering his lack of offensive production throughout the season. In 40 games with Triple-A Lehigh Valley, he posted a .181/.307/.307 slash line across 153 plate appearances, recording four home runs, four doubles and 18 RBIs.
His struggles at the plate extended beyond his time with the IronPigs. Earlier in 2026, Carlson appeared in 10 games for the Triple-A Iowa Cubs, collecting just seven hits in 44 plate appearances. He also made a brief stint with the Chicago Cubs at the major league level, going hitless in four at-bats while striking out twice.
If Carlson is unable to sign with another organization and return to the majors this season, 2026 would mark his third straight campaign with a negative Baseball Reference Wins Above Replacement (bWAR). He finished the 2024 season with a -1.2 bWAR after splitting time between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Tampa Bay Rays.
Last season, he was with the Baltimore Orioles and had -0.7 bWAR to go along with a .203/.278/.336 slash line, hitting six home runs and nine doubles.
Unfortunately, Carlson has been unable to replicate the excellent production he provided in 2021 when he was worth 3.2 bWAR and looking like a long-term building block for St. Louis. That was the only season his OPS+ was above the league average of 100, as he recorded a 115.
Still only 27 years old, there is a good chance that he will be picked up by another franchise in the near future. Not yet in his prime, some team could believe they have what it takes to coax the kind of production he showed earlier in his career out of him again.
