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Kyle Garlick

Phillies Option Six Players To Triple-A

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The Phillies shuffled six players off of their 26-man roster, according to a team announcement. They are lefties Austin Davis and Cole Irvin, righties Edgar Garcia and Reggie McClain and outfielders Kyle Garlick and Nick Williams

On what was originally scheduled to be Opening Day, the big baseball action of the day has instead been reruns of past games and procedural moves such as this one. None of these moves are particularly surprising.

The four pitchers all saw some time in MLB in 2019. But since they all posted ERAs north of 5.75 in their respective seasons, they will all have to go back down to the minors and wait for their next opportunity.

As for Garlick and Williams, they each had a decent shot of earning a roster spot a couple of weeks ago. But that was because Andrew McCutchen was not going to be ready to rejoin the team until April and therefore open the season on the IL. Now that the start to the season has been delayed until at least May, McCutchen should be able to get healthy in time to reclaim his regular role in left field. And with Bryce Harper, Adam Haseley, Jay Bruce and Roman Quinn also on the roster, that seems to push Garlick and Williams down the depth charts and into the minors.

NL East Notes: Braves, Lowrie, Nunez, Martini

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It doesn’t sound as though the Braves’ decision on an everyday third baseman will come until the final days of camp. Austin Riley and Johan Camargo are vying for that spot, but manager Brian Snitker told reporters today that both players have impressed so far and he’ll “wait until the last couple of days” before making up his mind (Twitter thread via David O’Brien of The Athletic). Snitker has previously suggested that whichever player doesn’t get the Opening Day nod could head to Triple-A Gwinnett for everyday at-bats, as both have minor league options remaining. The skipper again implied as much today: “[A]ll things being equal, one guy’s not going to be real happy with the decision.”

Camargo is hitting .308/.333/.500 through 10 games thus far, while Riley is hitting .320/.346/.600 in the same sample. Obviously, we’re talking about a minuscule number of plate appearances (26), and the Braves’ decision will be based on more than the pair’s surface-level production at the plate.

A bit more from the National League East…

  • There’s still no clarity regarding the knee injury that’s limiting Mets infielder Jed Lowrie, writes Ken Davidoff of the New York Post. The 35-year-old is still wearing a sizable brace on his ailing leg, and neither he nor the organization have been forthcoming about the exact nature of his knee troubles. There’s still no timetable for Lowrie, who tallied just eight plate appearances with the Mets during the first season of a two-year, $20MM deal in 2019. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets that with Lowrie unable to participate in Grapefruit League games, fellow veteran Eduardo Nunez has impressed the Mets in camp — perhaps positioning himself to snag a utility role. Nunez is playing on a minor league pact and would need to be added to the 40-man roster. He’s hitting .321/.387/.464 with a pair of doubles and a triple through 31 plate appearances so far in Spring Training and has experience at second base, shortstop and third base in addition to some more limited work in left field.
  • Outfielder Nick Martini was outrighted off the Phillies’ 40-man roster last month, but the news that Andrew McCutchen will open the season on the injured list once again has him in contention for an Opening Day roster spot. Standing in his way are former Phillies top prospect Nick Williams and fellow offseason acquisition Kyle Garlick — both of whom are on the 40-man roster. Nevertheless, Meghan Montemurro of The Athletic writes that Martini has impressed manager Joe Girardi, who praised the “professional” manner in which Martini “grinds out” all of his at-bats. Martini does indeed have some of that “professional hitter” feel to him — at least based on his career numbers in Triple-A, where he’s slashed .305/.401/.435 with a hearty 13.5 percent walk rate against a 16.9 percent strikeout rate in more than 1400 plate appearances. Both Garlick and Williams have minor league options remaining, but the Phils would need to make a 40-man move to bring Martini north when camp breaks.

Phillies Acquire Kyle Garlick From Dodgers

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The Phillies and Dodgers have agreed to a trade that will send outfielder Kyle Garlick to the Phillies, according to Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. In return, the Dodgers will receive minor league left-hander Tyler Gilbert. To clear a spot for Garlick on the 40-man roster, outfielder Nick Martini was designated for assignment.

Garlick had been designated earlier this week. He got a brief taste of the Majors with the Dodgers in 2019, appearing in 30 games and slashing .250/.321/.521 with three home runs. It was a nice showing from the 28-year-old rookie, who will have to show that he can hang around in the big leagues after an impressive showing at Triple-A.

With two minor league options remaining, Garlick could be a nice reserve option for the Phillies in the corner outfield. He’ll compete with the likes of Nick Williams, Roman Quinn, and Jay Bruce for bench at-bats. For what it’s worth, Garlick is the only true righty of that group (Quinn is a switch-hitter).

Gilbert is a 26-year-old reliever who was the Phillies’ 6th-round pick in 2015. He spent all of last season at Triple-A, pitching 47 2/3 innings of 2.83-ERA baseball, striking out 46 batters. With the Dodgers’ crowded bullpen unit, he’s a long shot to genuinely contend for a roster spot, but he at least represents good depth, especially in case of injuries.

Dodgers Designate Tyler White, Kyle Garlick

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The Dodgers have designated first baseman Tyler White and outfielder Kyle Garlick for assignment, Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register was among those to report. These moves come in the wake of Los Angeles’ acquisitions of Mookie Betts and David Price from Boston, leaving the Dodgers’ 40-man roster at capacity.

The 29-year-old White didn’t last long on the Dodgers’ 40-man. They acquired White last July from the Astros, with whom he was once a top-100 prospect. White posted a strong .276/.354/.533 line in 237 plate appearances in 2018, but he was unable to approach that production last year between Houston and Los Angeles. He combined for a .208/.308/.304 line in 279 trips to the plate, and injury issues helped limit White to a meager 26 PA as a Dodger.

Garlick, 28, was far more successful than White last season. A 28th-round pick back in 2015, Garlick showed well in his brief MLB debut in 2019, slashing .250/.321/.521 with three homers in 51 trips to the plate. He saw time in both outfield corners during that stint. Garlick spent the majority of the year in Triple-A ball, where he was excellent. His .314/.382/.675 showing (23 HRs) in 304 PA was 45 percent better than the league-average line, per FanGraphs’ wRC+ metric.

Garlick still has two minor league options left, so perhaps some other team will take a chance on him via trade or waivers. White’s out of options, so he’d have to stick on an acquiring club’s 26-man roster or head to the waiver wire.

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