Phillies Sign Louis Head To Minor League Deal

The Phillies have added right-hander Louis Head on a minor league deal, according to Baseball America’s transaction log.

Head, 33 in April, worked in relief for the Marlins and Orioles in 2022. He pitched to a combined 6.28 ERA over 28 2/3 innings, most of which came with Miami. Head struck out batters at an 18.8% clip, and walked them 10.9% of the time, with both of those numbers falling about two percentage points on the wrong side of the league average mark.

It was a significant step backwards for Head, who’d shown a fair bit of promise in his rookie year with the Rays in 2021. After nine years bouncing around the minor leagues, Head worked to a 2.31 ERA over 35 innings in his first taste of the big leagues, posting a 23.9% strikeout rate and a quality 6.7% walk rate, both of which were about two ticks the right side of the league average.

The Rays flipped him across the state to Miami last winter, picking up minor leaguer Josh Roberson in return. He worked to a 7.26 ERA over 31 innings at Double-A for Tampa Bay, so the trade hasn’t been much of a success for either side.

The Phillies will hope they can help Head recapture some of his 2021 form and deepen their bullpen stocks. He has one minor league option remaining.