Phillies Add Cairo to 40-Man Roster, Option Him to Triple-A Lehigh Valley

Christian Cairo exercised an upward mobility clause in his minor-league contract with the Philadelphia Phillies, forcing the club to add the 24-year-old infielder to its 40-man roster and immediately option him to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, leaving the roster full heading into Opening Day.

Matt Gelb of The Athletic reported that Cairo's offseason deal included the clause, which required the Phillies to add him to the 40-man or let him go if another team was willing to give him a big-league roster spot. With Cairo retaining a full slate of minor-league options, he joins Bryce Harper, Bryson Stott, Trea Turner, Alec Bohm, Edmundo Sosa, and Dylan Moore as 40-man infielders, but will be the only one of that group to begin the season in the minor leagues.

To open the roster spot, catcher Garrett Stubbs was designated for assignment after Rafael Marchán's elevation locked down the backup catcher role behind J.T. Realmuto. Phillies president Dave Dombrowski had said on Sunday that the club was attempting to trade Stubbs and would keep trying until final Opening Day rosters were due on Wednesday; apparently, nothing materialized. Being designated for assignment does not necessarily end Stubbs' path with the organization; Philadelphia now has five days to either trade him or place him on waivers. Stubbs is on a split contract, and if he spends 2026 in the minor leagues, he would receive $575,000.

Cairo was drafted by Cleveland in the fourth round of the 2019 MLB Draft and has been a career minor leaguer. He was selected in the Rule 5 Draft in 2024 by the Atlanta Braves but was returned to Cleveland's system after failing to stick, most recently playing for the Columbus Clippers, the Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. In 112 games for Columbus, Cairo hit .237 with 33 stolen bases and a .669 OPS before the Guardians released him in November and the Phillies signed him to the minor-league deal that ultimately triggered this roster move.

The Phillies made several other roster moves in the same transaction cycle. The club selected outfielder Justin Crawford's contract, adding him to the 40-man roster, with Crawford expected to break camp as the everyday center fielder. Philadelphia also placed three pitchers on the 15-day injured list: Zack Wheeler, rehabbing thoracic outlet surgery; Orion Kerkering, dealing with a right hamstring strain; and Max Lazar, sidelined by a left oblique strain. Those placements are retroactive to March 22. Lazar suffered his injury while pitching for Team Israel in the World Baseball Classic. Wheeler and Kerkering both saw late-spring action in minor-league games and are expected back early in the season.

Cairo, who was a non-roster invitee to spring training, parlayed his spring performance and the upward mobility clause into 40-man status, securing his spot in the Phillies organization just as the regular season opens. Whether he stays in Lehigh Valley long or finds his way to Philadelphia will depend on how the roster picture shifts once Wheeler, Kerkering, and others return from the injured list.