Awful News:The Phillies signed a player because of the injured…
The Philadelphia Phillies revealed on X last Sunday that they had signed catcher Cam Gallagher to a minor league deal as part of a recent spring training trade. An invitation to the big league spring training camp as a non-roster invitee is part of the contract.
The Phillies only have three catchers in their system that are capable of playing in the major leagues: J.T. Realmuto, Garrett Stubbs, and Rafael Marchán. At first sight, this looked to be an organizational depth move. Caleb Ricketts, their next greatest catching prospect, is still in High-A and needs more development.
But if you dig a little more, the move is really an insurance policy since Rafael Marchán, the third-string catcher, has been dealing with a slight back problem that was reported before to the start of Grapefruit League games last weekend.
Playing with the Tigres de Aragua of the Venezuelan Winter League just before the playoffs, Marchán first sustained the injury during winter ball. That was the end of Marchán’s successful campaign with the Tigres because of back pain at the time. He batted.333 in 32 games with a.982 OPS, 10 doubles, three home runs, 18 runs scored, 23 RBI, 16 walks, and only 11 strikeouts. In addition, he played strong defense behind the plate, making no mistakes and striking out thirty percent of base stealers.
In an interview with Meridiano before to the end of the winter season, Marchán reported feeling well and that the physical pain he had experienced at the end of December had subsided. His goal was to quickly regain his physical fitness and readiness.
“I feel wonderful. Thank God, the physical pain I was experiencing at the end of December is gone,” Marchán informed Meridiano. “The most important thing is that I am now with the team again, doing everything to be ready as soon as possible.”
But now that March is almost here, his back problems have returned, raising even greater concerns. Marchán’s luck hasn’t been on his favor in terms of injuries in recent years. He has missed the first two months of the previous two seasons due to injuries, having missed two months due to a left hamstring strain in 2022 and nearly three months due to a fractured hamate bone in his right wrist in 2023.
Therefore, the Phillies are presumably being cautious by adding Gallagher as a safety net for the team, especially considering Marchán’s past history of injuries. Having spent seven years in the major leagues, Gallagher was mostly used as a backup catcher for the Cleveland Guardians and Kansas City Royals. He has hit.211 with 47 runs scored, 33 doubles, seven home runs, and 46 RBI in 227 career games. In the field, he has a strong.992 fielding percentage and has struck out 21% of base stealers.
Marchán should recuperate quickly and return to action shortly. To make sure they have everything covered heading into the 2024 season, the Phillies have at least established a reliable backup plan.