For the First Time Since 2015, a former pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies is called up.

The momentous news that a former Philadelphia Phillies pitcher is getting called up to MLB for the first time in nearly a decade is one of the best underappreciated sports stories of the year.

David Buchanan, a right-handed pitcher the Cincinnati Reds acquired from the Phillies a few days ago in exchange for monetary considerations, will be called up by the team.
In a manner, Buchanan has remained consistent as a pitcher throughout his career. Although he has recently shifted to emphasizing his cutter, he still throws a fastball that sits around ninety. He possesses a changeup and sinker as well. His curveball is his biggest breaking ball, but he only uses it approximately 10% of the time.

His preference is for a very high ground ball rate—he has reached as high as 72.8% in his career—rather than strikeouts.

Philadelphia selected the Georgia native in the seventh round of the 2010 MLB draft, after he had attended Georgia State University.
After a strong start to his baseball career in the minors, he made his Major League debut in 2015.

He pitched 192.1 innings for the Phillies over the course of two years, recording a dismal 5.01 ERA. Just in his sophomore year, his ERA increased to 6.99.

After being demoted and placed on the disabled list at the end of the 2016 season, he was sent back down to Triple-A. He started his profession abroad as he couldn’t find a deal he liked in America.
The right-hand pitcher played in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball for three seasons with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows.

Though not as much as he had in America, he was nonetheless somewhat successful there. Splitting time between the starting rotation and the bullpen, he posted a 4.07 ERA.

The true beginning of Buchanan’s comeback tale occurs when he joins the Samsung Lions of the Korean Baseball Organization.
He was nominated to two All-Star games and had an outstanding 3.02 ERA across his four years. With 16 victories in the 2021 season, he topped the KBO in wins.

With a stellar 2023 campaign that included 188 innings worked and a 2.54 ERA, he demonstrated that he still had a lot left in him.

In an attempt to rejoin the Major League Baseball, the now 35-year-old inked a minor league contract with Philadelphia.
It appears that he will make his first big league appearance in nearly a decade with the Reds.