The Phillies announced a series of transactions today. Two have 40-man roster implications. The club selected the contract of infielder Sean Rodriguez and designated reliever James Pazos to make way.

Joining Rodriguez on the active roster is righty Enyel De Los Santos. To create space, infielder Mitch Walding and righty Drew Anderson were optioned back to Triple-A.

Rodriguez turns 34 on Friday, so this makes for an early birthday gift. He’s in the starting lineup today at shortstop, representing his first MLB action since he was designated last August by the Pirates. Rodriguez has struggled at the plate in recent seasons but is off to a .267/.327/.622 start with the bat at Triple-A. He’ll help fill in while Jean Segura is sidelined.

As for Pazos, who’s closing in on his 28th birthday, it seems the Phillies have been quite underwhelmed since receiving him via trade over the winter. He was a quality relief piece in 2018 and has plenty of cheap control remaining, but had struggled badly in a Phillies uniform. Over 14 2/3 innings between Spring Training and the start of the Triple-A season, the southpaw has managed just six strikeouts against 11 walks.

That said, Pazos pitched to a strong 3.39 ERA with better than a strikeout per inning in 103 2/3 frames with Seattle in 2017-18. While he was dominant against either righties or lefties, he demonstrated an ability to limit damage against each; right-handed hitters managed a .248/.327/.393 line to left-handers’ collective .248/.326/.353. During that two-year run with Seattle, Pazos averaged just under 95 mph on his heater while posting a 10.9 percent swinging-strike rate and 32.6 percent opponents’ chase rate on pitches outside the strike zone. Given the number of teams in need of bullpen help throughout the league, there’s a solid chance he’ll generate interest from another team.