The New York Yankees have signed a former fan favorite of the Baltimore Orioles.
Phillips, who had spent his whole career playing outfield, was signed as a relief pitcher. He will be assigned to the lower levels as New York evaluates the right-hander.
He appeared in a semi-pro league game on Monday night and demonstrated an upper 90s fastball, throwing 95-97 MPH, according to several reports.
Phillips has a career slash line of.187/.272/.347, with only 31 home runs in 971 plate appearances. If he can show the Yankees or another team that he can be an above-average bullpen pitcher, he may have a chance to stick.
It’s unusual to see anything like this happen, but the 30-year-old looked fantastic in his semi-professional debut. While this is very different from Major League Baseball, a 97 MPH fastball can typically be used at any level, depending on his command and secondary stuff.
Who knows, perhaps one day he’ll return to Baltimore as a reliever. He’s a crowd favorite everywhere he goes, and his contemporaries throughout the league regard him highly, so anything is possible if he pitches well.