RHP Justin De Fratus was signed to a minor league contract from the independent Atlantic League and he was assigned to Double-A Arkansas. He was 3-1 with a 1.40 ERA in four starts with Southern Maryland this season. The 29-year-old has a 7-6 record with a 4.08 ERA in five seasons (194 innings) with the Philadelphia Phillies. He pitched in the minors in 2016.

RHP Justin De Fratus was acquired from the Mariners on Saturday to complete a May 29 trade that sent OF Patrick Kivlehan to Seattle. De Fratus, a former Phillies reliever, was 2-2 with a 3.21 ERA in 19 relief appearances with the Mariners' Triple-A affiliate this season.

RHP Justin De Fratus signed a one-year free agent deal with the Mariners on Wednesday. The Seattle Times reported that the deal was worth $750,000. De Fratus went 0-2 with a 5.51 ERA in 61 relief appearances for Philadelphia this year. He was outrighted to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Oct. 7, and he declined the assignment and chose to become a free agent. De Fratus, 28, is 7-6 with a 4.08 ERA in 191 appearances over the past five seasons for the Phillies.

De Fratus has elected free agency, Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

The Phillies outrighted De Fratus earlier in the week after a disappointing season -- his ERA jumped more than three run from 2014 -- and he has decided to explore opportunities elsewhere rather than remain in the organization. De Fratus doesn't have the stuff to ever be a reliable back-end arm, but he figures to at least receive an invite to spring training with another club.

De Fratus was outrighted off the Phillies' 40-man roster Wednesday.

The 27-year-old took a big step back in 2015, posting a 5.51 ERA and 1.55 WHIP over 80 innings with the big club, up from 2.39 and 1.08 in 2014 (52.2 innings). It seems the Phillies lost hope of De Fratus regaining his old form and being a significant contributor out of the bullpen in 2016 and beyond.

De Fratus pitched three scoreless innings in the Phillies' comeback win over the Mets on Wednesday.

It has been a tough year for De Fratus, who moved from his seventh inning role into a long relief gig due to the struggles of the Phillies' pen. He has a 5.61 ERA and a 66:30 K:BB ratio in 77 innings this season.

De Fratus picked up a loss Saturday after allowing a run on two hits in two-thirds of an inning against the Brewers.

De Fratus has been scored upon in four of his last eight outings. He has struggled this season, perhaps due to a heavier than normal workload. He is 0-2 with a 5.60 ERA and a 57:25 K:BB ratio in 64.1 innings.

Interim manager Pete Mackanin told De Fratus that he will continue to be used in a long relief role this season, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

De Fratus mostly worked the seventh inning last season, but the Phillies have needed him in a long relief role with their starters failing to go deep on many occasions. De Fratus has thrown 894 pitches this season which is 111 more than the Rangers' Anthony Bass, who has thrown the next-most number of pitches. He has a 4.96 ERA and a 48:18 K:BB ratio in 49 innings.

De Fratus was ejected from Tuesday's 19-3 loss to the Orioles after throwing inside to J.J. Hardy, the Phillies' official site reports.

De Fratus had just given up a home run to Chris Parmelee and umpire Lance Barksdale assumed De Fratus intended to hit Hardy with his next pitch. He has been solid in middle relief for the Phils this season with a 3.82 ERA and a 34:12 K:BB ratio in 33 innings.

De Fratus allowed three earned runs on four hits in two innings against the Marlins on Thursday.

De Fratus entered the game with a 2.57 ERA, but that rose to 5.00 after Thursday's performance. He has an 11:6 K:BB ratio in nine innings this season.

De Fratus said he did a more serious long-toss program this offseason to try to add more velocity to his fastball, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

De Fratus saw his fastball velocity drop to 91 mph last season, which was a couple ticks below his 2013 velocity. That didn't harm his numbers, as he finished with a 2.39 ERA and 49 strikeouts in 52.2 innings. He'll likely see most of his work in the seventh inning this season.

De Fratus will have his workload reduced over the rest of the season, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

The Phillies are also reducing the workload of Ken Giles and Jake Diekman. De Fratus is 3-1 with a 2.57 ERA and a 45:11 K:BB ratio in 49 innings this season.

De Fratus picked up a win Tuesday with a scoreless inning of work against the Pirates.

De Fratus allowed two hits and struck out one for his third win of the season. He has settled in to the seventh inning role for the Phillies this season and looks like he will be a vital piece of the team's pen next season.

De Fratus allowed two runs, both unearned, on three hits in two-thirds of an inning Wednesday against the Mets. He struck out two and walked none.

De Fratus is now 2-1 with a 2.91 ERA and a 34:9 K:BB in 34 innings. He's become an important piece in the Phillies' improved bullpen this season.

Phillies recalled RHP Justin De Fratus from Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

De Fratus allowed four runs over his first five relief innings last month before being sent down. The Phillies will use him in low-leverage situations.

Phillies optioned RHP Justin De Fratus to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

De Fratus allowed four runs over his first five relief innings to earn the demotion. He'll be replaced in the bullpen by Luis Garcia.

Phillies recalled RHP Justin De Fratus from Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

De Fratus has a 1.89 ERA in 13 appearances at the minor league level. The 25-year-old will provide bullpen depth.

Phillies recalled RHP Justin De Fratus from Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

De Fratus has dealt with elbow issues for much of the season but has pitched well at Triple-A when healthy, putting up a 2.49 ERA and 22/3 K/BB ratio over 21 2/3 innings. The Phillies will use him in the middle innings.

Justin De Fratus will be shut down for a month with a flexor pronator strain in his right elbow.

De Fratus began the year on the DL with what was called a sprained elbow at the time, but the soreness remained and now the Phillies have a more specified diagnosis. It sounds like he won't be an option for the Phils until at least mid-June.

Justin De Fratus (elbow) tossed a scoreless inning in his first rehab start Sunday with Class-A Clearwater.

De Fratus began the season on the disabled list with a right elbow sprain. Baseball America ranked DeFratus as the seventh-best prospect in the Phillies organization last fall. He'll likely report to Triple-A Lehigh Valley once healthy.