The Phillies Trade For South Jersey High School Graduate

The Philadelphia Phillies have needed more depth for their bench moving forward this season. With Trea Turner, Kody Clemens, and Brandon Marsh on the Injured List for the foreseeable future, the organization was in need of a player with positional versatility.

On Friday, the Phillies announced that they have agreed to send Cash Considerations to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for 25-year-old Utility Player Buddy Kennedy.

Who Is Buddy Kennedy?

A graduate of Millville High School in South Jersey, Kennedy played in six games for the Detroit Tigers this season compiling a .200 Batting Average along with a Home Run and four RBI. At the Tigers' Triple-A Affiliate Toledo Mud Hens, Kennedy has 33 Hits in 39 Games along with 14 RBI.

Kennedy's value to the Phillies organization will be his positional versatility. He has played at Second Base in 24 of his 30 Games Started at the Major League Level along with Nine Games Total at Third Base. In the 537 Games in the Minor Leagues, Kennedy has played games in Left Field along with First Base, Second Base, and Third Base.

Selected in the 5th Round of the 2017 MLB Draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks, Buddy Kennedy spent four years in the Minor Leagues before making his MLB Debut. He played in 40 MLB games over the course of two seasons with the Diamondbacks before he was placed on Waivers in September 2023.

The Saint Louis Cardinals picked him up during the offseason and invited him to 2024 Spring Training. But he became the "Odd Man Out" in the Cardinals' crowded Infield Depth Chart and was cut early enough so he could join another team before the 2024 season.

Kennedy was selected off waivers by the Detroit Tigers a month before the start of the MLB season but never gained traction for a team with versatile players such as Matt Vierling, Zach McKinstry, and Andy Ibanez on the roster.

Buddy Kennedy's Special Connection To The Phillies

This is a unique homecoming for Buddy Kennedy to be joining the Philadelphia organization. His Grandfather, Don Money, played five seasons for the Phillies from 1968 to 1972. Like his grandson, Money was a versatile player who started games at Shortstop, Third Base, and Left Field during his time in a Phillies uniform.

With the Phillies currently in London for their series versus the New York Mets and the versatile Right-Handed Bat Weston Wilson currently on the big league roster, no announcement yet on what Kennedy's role with the organization will be.

But still, a great opportunity for the South Jersey High School Graduate to join the team he grew up rooting for.

Here are some of the other South Jersey High School Graduates who have played games in Major League Baseball over the last couple of decades: