The Phillies have acquired center fielder Cristian Pache from the Oakland Athletics in exchange for right-handed pitcher Billy Sullivan, President of Baseball Operations David Dombrowski announced today.
The 24-year-old Pache was tied for fifth among American League center fielders with five defensive runs saved in 2022, trailing only Michael A. Taylor (19), Myles Straw (17), Byron Buxton (8) and Jose Siri (6). He played in 90 games (70 starts) for Oakland last season, all in center field, posting a .995 fielding percentage. Per Statcast, Pache ranked in the 94th percentile among all center fielders in Outs Above Average (7) and the 92nd percentile in average arm strength (92.3 mph).
Pache, a native of the Dominican Republic, has appeared in 115 major league games for the Atlanta Braves (2020-21) and Athletics (2022). He played center field in all but two of them. Pache was signed by Atlanta as an amateur free agent in 2015 and appeared on Baseball America’s top 100 prospects list in each year from 2019-22, ranking as high as No. 7 prior to the 2021 season.
Sullivan, 23, was signed by the Phillies as a non-drafted free agent on June 17, 2020. The New Castle, Del., native spent the 2022 season with double-A Reading, where he was 5-1 with a 4.59 ERA (26 ER, 51.0 IP) over 44 appearances (two starts).
To make room for Pache on the 40-man roster, the Phillies placed infielder Rhys Hoskins on the 60-day injured list with a left ACL tear.
