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Phillies Sign Justin Williams, Four Others To Minor League Deals

By Steve Adams | March 8, 2022 at 8:41am CDT

The Phillies have signed former Cardinals outfielder Justin Williams to a minor league contract, according to the team’s transactions log at MLB.com. The Roc Nation Sports client has been invited to big league camp, whenever Spring Training gets underway. He was eligible to sign during the lockout by virtue of going unclaimed on outright waivers and electing minor league free agency at the end of the 2021 season.

Also joining the organization are right-hander James Marvel, infielder Drew Maggi, catcher Karl Ellison and first baseman Joe Genord. There are no Major League Spring Training invites listed for that quartet, though Marvel, who has some limited MLB experience, and minor league veteran Maggi could still end up there down the line.

Williams, 26, is the most notable name of the bunch. The former second-round pick (D-backs, 2013) has been involved in a pair of notable trades in the past — first going from Arizona to Tampa Bay in exchange for Jeremy Hellickson and second going from Tampa to St. Louis as one of the headliners in the Tommy Pham deal. Williams was a well-regarded prospect at all three stops and has had plenty of minor league success, but he’s yet to put things together in the big leagues.

With the Rays, Williams received only one lone plate appearance in 2018, and it wasn’t until this past season in 2021, when he received any kind of real look in St. Louis. The Cards gave him 137 plate appearances over the course of 51 games in ’21, but Williams batted just .160/.270/.261 while fanning in a third of his plate appearances. Williams walked in 12.4% of those plate appearances, however, and when he did make contact, it was quite loud. His 92.1 mph average exit velocity is excellent, and 52.1% of his batted balls had at least a 95 mph exit velocity.

Williams hits the ball on the ground too often, but his penchant for hard contact has been interesting to scouts throughout his minor league tenure. The grounder-heavy output at the plate has limited him to a career-high 14 home runs, but he’s a career .294/.340/.438 hitter in the minors — including a .272/.330/.442 slash in parts of three Triple-A seasons. Defensively, he’s limited to the outfield corners and posted roughly average marks in 294 innings last year (+1 DRS, -0.5 UZR, -1 OAA).

Turning to the 28-year-old Marvel, he’s spent his entire pro career to date with the Pirates organization, who called him up to the big leagues and gave him four starts during the 2019 season. That brief cup of coffee didn’t go well, as Marvel was tagged for 16 runs in 17 1/3 innings while posting just a 9-to-6 K/BB ratio.

Marvel had a terrific minor league season in 2019, pitching to a combined 2.94 ERA in 162 1/3 frames between Double-A and Triple-A, but he was nevertheless passed through waivers at the end of the season. He didn’t make the Pirates’ 60-man player pool in 2020, and he struggled in his return effort in Triple-A in 2021, logging a 5.26 ERA in 131 2/3 frames. Even with that rough ’21 campaign, Marvel has a career 4.45 ERA in Triple-A and a career 3.82 mark through the minors as a whole. He doesn’t throw particularly hard or miss many bats, but Marvel typically registers grounder rates around 50% with low walk rates.

The 32-year-old Maggi nearly made his MLB debut with the Twins last season. However, after selecting Maggi’s contract late in September, Minnesota surprisingly did not give the 11-year minor league veteran the opportunity to get into a game and make that long-awaited debut. It was an unfortunate footnote in a generally dismal Twins season. Maggi, who has ample experience at shortstop, third base and second base, is a career .263/.362/.401 hitter in parts of five Triple-A seasons and will hope to finally step into a big league game at some point with the Phils this season.

Genord, 25, was the Mets’ ninth-round pick as recently as 2019 but was released last August after hitting .203/.264/.353 in 227 plate appearances at the High-A level, where he was already older than the average competition he was facing. Ellison, 26, went undrafted out of college and has spent two seasons with the independent Lake Erie Crushers of the Frontier League. He hit .256/.303/.422 there last season.

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Philadelphia Phillies Transactions Drew Maggi James Marvel Justin Williams

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View Comments (11)

Comments

  1. bighiggy

    1 year ago

    Had high hopes for Williams as a cards outfielder. Guy looked like he was swinging out of his shoes everytime he took a hack. Which was often. Too often

    Reply
    • Four4fore

      1 year ago

      Looks like a robot when he runs.

      Reply
    • lemonlyman

      1 year ago

      He walked in 12.4% of his plate appearances…

      Reply
  2. DarkSide830

    1 year ago

    Marvel never quite got a long enough look in my mind. hope he can force his way into the SP5 mix.

    Reply
    • Captain Dunsel

      1 year ago

      I heard that he is a real blue blood. If successful, perhaps some day he will be Captain.

      Reply
    • mlb1225

      1 year ago

      Phillies already have Wheeler, Nola, Suarez, Eflin, and Gibson. Hans Crouse would definitley take priority over Marvel. Marvel really doesn’t bring anything special to the table. Probably a 6th starter at best.

      Reply
      • frontdeskmike

        1 year ago

        I’m surprised he ended up in Philly. I thought James was going to end up with DC.

        Reply
      • DarkSide830

        1 year ago

        Eflin is injured at the moment and Crouse has made one start at AAA.

        Reply
  3. Bob333

    1 year ago

    Williams and Maggi the only 2 that have any chance of getting a spot

    Reply
  4. Hörst deVurmehr

    1 year ago

    The Maggi signing is a true gift to the Phillies organization.

    Reply
    • Captain Dunsel

      1 year ago

      A wise observation.

      Reply

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