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Phillip Evans

Braves Sign Phillip Evans To Minor League Deal

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The Braves and third baseman Phillip Evans are in agreement on a minor league deal, according to the transactions tracker on Evans’ MLB.com player profile. Details of the deal are not known, but it’s likely that the deal comes with an invite to big league Spring Training.

Evans, a former 15th-round pick by the Mets who made his MLB debut back in 2017, hit fairly well over three short stints in the big leagues between Queens and Pittsburgh during the 2017, ’18, and ’20 seasons with a .290/.377/.366 slash line in 106 combined trips to the plate. That led Evans to get his first long-term role in the majors during the 2021 season, but the utilityman struggled to a slash line of just .206/.312/.299 in 247 plate appearances across 76 games. Those struggles led the Pirates to release Evans at the end of the season.

The utility man went on to sign with the Yankees on a minor league deal, but struggled in 400 trips to the plate for the club at the Triple-A level and didn’t reach the majors at all during the 2022 campaign. Evans also didn’t appear in the majors after signing with the Diamondbacks on a minor league pact last offseason. While he hit a seemingly strong .312/.424/.439 in 590 Triple-A trips to the plate last season, the inflated offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League, which Arizona’s Triple-A affiliate plays in, means that performance was good for a wRC+ of just 117.

Even so, that respectable offensive performance combined with exceptional versatility that has seen him make at least one professional appearance at every position on the diamond except for center field throughout his professional career makes Evans among the more interesting depth pieces to be had on a minor league deal. The Braves boast one of the deepest positional groups in the majors, meaning that even if Evans were to beat out the likes of David Fletcher or Forrest Wall for a spot on the club’s Opening Day roster, it’s unlikely he’d see consistent playing time barring a significant injury to a member of the starting lineup. Nonetheless, the 31-year-old will likely get the opportunity to do just that this spring along with other non-roster depth options like Leury Garcia and Andrew Velazaquez.

Diamondbacks, Phillip Evans Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Diamondbacks are in agreement with utility-man Phillip Evans on a minor league deal, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The deal comes with an invite to big league spring training.

Evans, 30, didn’t make it to the big leagues last season, playing out the entire year at the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate. He slashed .244/.310/.366 with nine home runs and 17 doubles in 400 plate appearances. Defensively, he spent the bulk of his time at third-base and right-field, but also logged some innings at first, second and in left.

Originally drafted by the Mets in the 15th round of the 2011 draft, Evans slowly worked his way up through their minor league system, earning a big league debut in 2017. Over the next two seasons Evans would see brief time in the majors, slashing .241/.328/.278 without a home run in 61 plate appearances before the Mets released him at the end of the 2018 season.

He latched on with the Cubs the following year, but wouldn’t see the big leagues again until the Pirates called him up in 2020. A .359/.444/.487 line in 45 plate appearances that season for the rebuilding Bucs was enough to earn him a bit more playing time in 2021. Across 247 plate appearances, Evans would hit .206/.312/.299 with five home runs before Pittsburgh released him at the end of the year.

Evans could compete for a spot as a utility player on the Diamondbacks’ bench in the spring, or start the year at Triple-A and provide depth in the event of any injuries.

Yankees, Phillip Evans Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Yankees have agreed to a deal with infielder/outfielder Phillip Evans, reports MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. Greg Joyce of the New York Post tweeted yesterday that Evans had been spotted at Yankees camp. Presumably, it’s a minor league pact for the CAA client.

Evans, 29, had a huge shoeing in a tiny sample with the Pirates in 2020 when he batted .359/.444/.487 through 45 plate appearances. He got out to a decent start in his second season with the Bucs last year but ultimately wound up finishing the year with a .206/.312/.299 batting line in a career-high 247 plate appearances. Overall, Evans is a career .231/.331/.319 hitter in 353 plate appearances between the Mets and Pirates. He played all four corner positions with Pittsburgh this past season, but the majority of Evans’ professional innings have come at shortstop, third base and second base — in that order.

Evans will give the Yankees some versatile depth with a reasonably productive track record in the upper minors to stash in Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He’s a career .274/.349/.441 hitter with 42 homers, 74  doubles and seven triples in 1438 plate appearances at the Triple-A level.

Pirates Release Three Players

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The Pirates announced they’ve released three players: right-hander Tanner Anderson, catcher Taylor Davis and utilityman Phillip Evans. Pittsburgh’s 40-man roster now sits at 37.

Anderson and Davis each made it to the majors at the very tail end of the regular season. Anderson was selected to the big league club on September 30. He made his first and only appearance of the season that night, tossing five innings of two-run ball out of the bullpen. It was very brief homecoming for the 28-year-old, who began his MLB career with the Bucs in 2018.

While Anderson has now earned a major league call in three separate seasons, he has just 12 appearances and 38 2/3 cumulative innings to show for it. Anderson owns just a 5.82 ERA in that limited time, but he has a 4.52 mark in more than 200 career Triple-A frames. That includes a 4.01 ERA over 51 2/3 innings between the A’s and Pirates’s top affiliates in 2021, albeit with an unexciting 12.3% strikeout rate.

Davis only made two MLB appearances, collecting a couple of singles in five at-bats. He’s appeared in parts of four major league campaigns but hasn’t tallied more than 20 plate appearances in any year. The 31-year-old spent most of this past season with the Triple-A affiliates of the Orioles and Bucs, hitting .248/.344/.325 between the two stops.

Evans has the most big league time of this group. He played in just under half the Pirates’ games in 2021, picking up 247 plate appearances while starting games at all four corner spots on the diamond. Evans drew walks at a robust 11.3% clip but didn’t make a huge offensive impact. He popped just five home runs en route to a .206/.312/.299 slash line.

Pirates Designate Erik Gonzalez, Select Anthony Alford

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4:03PM: The Pirates have also released outfielder Dustin Fowler.  Pittsburgh acquired Fowler in a trade with the A’s during the winter, and the outfielder posted a .434 OPS in 46 PA, marking Fowler’s first bit of big league action since the 2018 season.  Fowler was outrighted to Triple-A in April and has since battled injuries for much of the season.

3:18PM: The Pirates selected the contract of outfielder Anthony Alford from Triple-A.  In corresponding moves, Phillip Evans was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis, while utilityman Erik Gonzalez was designated for assignment (Gonzalez had been on the injured list, and was reinstated before being DFA’ed).

Gonzalez has been out of action since July 2 due to a left oblique strain, and he had been wrapping up a minor league rehab assignment in Triple-A.  Now, the 29-year-old could be potentially headed elsewhere after two-plus seasons with the Bucs.  Gonzalez has been utilized all over the diamond in his 174 games in a Pittsburgh uniform, but hasn’t hit much, batting only .236/.268/.324 over 578 plate appearances since the start of the 2019 season.

While Gonzalez could remain in the organization after clearing waivers, it seems likely that the rebuilding Pirates want to give more big league playing time to less-experienced players like Alford.  The former top prospect isn’t young (he just recently turned 27) but he has yet to earn a long look at the MLB level, appearing in each of the last five seasons but totaling only 62 games.

The Pirates claimed Alford off the Blue Jays roster in August 2020 but the change of scenery hasn’t unlocked anything for the outfielder, who has a .540 OPS in the small sample size of 42 PA with Pittsburgh.  At Triple-A, however, Alford has been red hot, hitting .307/.420/.593 with 14 home runs over 226 PA for Indianapolis.

Pirates Injury Notes: Kuhl, Hayes, Moran, Evans, Swaggerty

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Pirates GM Ben Cherington updated reporters (including Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review) with the latest on several injured Bucs players.  The most imminent news concerns Chad Kuhl, who will be activated from the 10-day injured list to start Monday’s game with the Royals.

Kuhl was placed on the IL on April 22 due to right shoulder discomfort.  After tossing a pair of rehab outings at Triple-A, Kuhl will look to get back on the big league mound and turn the page on what has been a tough 2021 season.  Kuhl has a 6.32 ERA over his first four starts and 15 2/3 innings, in large part due to an extreme lack of control — Kuhl has 16 walks in those 15 2/3 innings.

“Part of Chad’s rehab was not just getting healthy, it was making sure that he continued to build off what he had done in that last start and attack the strike zone,” Cherington said, referencing Kuhl’s final start before his IL visit.  While Kuhl still allowed three earned runs in five innings against the Brewers on April 18, he did walk just one Milwaukee batter, while striking out six.

Ke’Bryan Hayes might also soon be returning to the Pirates, as Cherington indicated that “all reports have been good” about Hayes’ Triple-A rehab stint.  The star rookie went on the IL after just two games due to left wrist inflammation, and his recovery process already hit one setback in April.  With so much time missed, Cherington felt Hayes needed “almost a Spring Training progression” to get ramped up, since “the last thing we wanted to do was sort of rush him back and then something else happens because his body was just not ready….So that’s why you’ve seen maybe a little longer progression than we would in some other cases with rehab.”

Hayes has already appeared in seven games with Triple-A Indianapolis, and figures to clock a few more appearances before June 3, when he is eligible to be reinstated from the 60-day injured list.  It is quite possible Hayes will be activated that day, when the Pirates begin a four-game series at home with the Marlins.

Colin Moran and Phillip Evans are also likely to be starting rehab assignment of their own, possibly as early as within the next two days, Cherington implied.  Moran has been out since May 9 due to a groin injury, while Evans went on the IL on May 13 because of a hamstring strain.  Evans’ versatility helped the Pirates fill several holes around the diamond before he too was lost to the injured list, while Moran has hit well as the team’s regular first baseman.

On the minor league front, Cherington said that Travis Swaggerty’s dislocated right shoulder is “going in [the] direction” of requiring surgery.  Swaggerty suffered the injury while diving back to first base during a Triple-A game, and he has spent much of the last two weeks weighing recovery options.  Swaggerty was the tenth overall pick of the 2018 draft, and MLB Pipeline ranks him as the ninth-best prospect in Pittsburgh’s farm system.  Surgery would seemingly end the season for the outfielder, an especially tough blow since Swaggerty already lost a year of development when the 2020 minor league season was canceled.

Pirates Notes: Stallings, Hayes, Moran, Polanco, Keller

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Pirates catcher Jacob Stallings left this afternoon’s game against the Giants in the seventh inning after being struck by a Buster Posey foul tip. The Pirates announced he’s dealing with a left quad contusion (via Mike Persak of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). He was replaced by Michael Pérez. Stallings has rather quietly gotten off to a very good start to the season, hitting .257/.370/.446 over his first 119 plate appearances. Stallings and Pérez are the only backstops on Pittsburgh’s 40-man, so the team would need to make a roster move if the 31-year-old is forced to miss time. The Pirates have a pair of former big leaguers, Andrew Susac and Joe Hudson, splitting time at the position with Triple-A Indianapolis.

More out of Pittsburgh:

  • The organization is hopeful third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes will be ready to embark on a minor league rehab assignment within the next several days, general manager Ben Cherington said on 93.7 FM The Fan (h/t to Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review). One of the sport’s top prospects and a popular preseason pick to win the NL Rookie of the Year Award, Hayes has been limited to seven plate appearances this season by a wrist injury. He isn’t eligible to return from the 60-day IL until June 3. The 24-year-old got off to an incredible start to his big league career last season, hitting .376/.442/.682 over his first 95 plate appearances.
  • Cherington also noted that there’s some hope each of Colin Moran and Phillip Evans can return from the injured list without needing to embark on rehab assignments (via Gorman). Moran went down last week with a left groin injury, halting a strong .297/.352/.468 start to the year. Evans began the season blistering hot but quickly cooled off. He went on the shelf earlier this week with a hamstring strain.
  • Corner outfielder Gregory Polanco and starter Mitch Keller will continue to get opportunities despite disappointing starts to the season, writes Rob Biertempfel of the Athletic. Coming off back-to-back down years, Polanco has managed just a .206/.284/.351 line over 109 plate appearances to start 2021. Those struggles make it highly unlikely the Pirates will wind up exercising their $12.5MM option on Polanco for next season, and it’s difficult to imagine the rebuilding club will find much of a market for him at the trade deadline. Nevertheless, Cherington pointed to Polanco’s somewhat promising batted ball metrics (including an 80th percentile hard hit rate) as reason for continuing to hope for a bounce back. Keller has been up and down over his first three MLB seasons, but it’s not particularly surprising the Pirates plan to give the 25-year-old time to work through his struggles given his prospect pedigree and mid-90’s velocity.

Pirates Select Will Craig, Designate Sean Poppen

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The Pirates announced Thursday that they’ve selected the contract of first baseman/outfielder Will Craig from Triple-A Indianapolis and designated righty Sean Poppen for assignment in order to open a spot on the 40-man roster. Craig will take the active roster spot of infielder/outfielder Phillip Evans, who is going on the 10-day injured list due to a hamstring strain. Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported earlier in the day that Craig would be brought back up to the MLB roster.

Pittsburgh designated Craig, their first-round pick from the 2016 draft, for assignment back in November after claiming righty Ashton Goudeau off waivers. Craig went unclaimed on waivers and remained with the organization and headed to Spring Training as a non-roster player.

Craig has opened the year just 6-for-26 in Triple-A, but he’s fanned only three times and three of those six hits have been round-trippers. With Colin Moran and Evans on the injured list and Todd Frazier having been recently designated for assignment himself, it seems like Craig will have an opportunity to another look at first base — at least in the short term.

Poppen, 27, was claimed off waivers out of the Twins organization over the winter but hasn’t found much success in his short time with the Bucs. He tossed just 4 1/3 innings this season and was tagged for seven runs (four earned) on 11 hits and a couple of walks with four strikeouts. He’s served up a pair of runs in four Triple-A frames as well.

Poppen, a Harvard product, has spent parts of five seasons in the minors since being selected by the Twins in the 19th round of the 2016 draft. He’s compiled a 3.39 ERA in 413 2/3 minor league innings, punching out 23.5 percent of opponents against a 7.6 percent walk rate.

NL Central Notes: Hayes, Akiyama, Contreras, Hicks

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Rookie third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes will soon compete in alternate site games, and he should thereafter return to the Pirates’ roster, per Kevin Gorman of Triblive.com. Hayes jammed his wrist in the second game of the season. The Pirates have surprisingly held their heads above water in his absence; A win in extras yesterday put their record to 7-9 on the young season. Hayes apparently left some rookie magic behind at the hot corner, as 28-year-old Phillip Evans has slashed .275/.373/.490 in 59 plate appearances as Hayes’ stand-in. Evans has already made 2021 the most prolific campaign of his career, a strong argument to keep a roster spot even after Hayes returns.

Let’s hang out in the NL Central this morning…

  • Reds outfielder Shogo Akiyama is working on running drills, per C. Trent Rosecrans of the Athletic (via Twitter). Manager David Bell wants to see Akiyama in game action at the team’s alternate site this weekend. Even with Aristides Aquino on the injured list, the Reds have no shortage of outfielders thanks to the surprising play of Tyler Naquin. Still, if Akiyami can return as he finished last season, he’s undoubtedly an asset. Akiyama posted a 135 wRC+ in September and October of last season while slashing .317/.456/.365 and providing capable defense at all three spots in the outfield.
  • Whether or not the Cubs are headed towards a rebuild, it’s a good time to work on extending catcher Willson Contreras, writes Gordon Wittenmyer of NBC Sports. Contreras continues to be one of the more dynamic catchers in the game, both in terms of his personality and his play on the field. The Cubs long-time backstop is off to a hot start at the plate, slashing .273/.400/.614 with five home runs through 55 plate appearances. Contreras will be a free agent after 2022, heading into his age-30 season. Appealing as it may be to keep Contreras in Chicago, extensions for positions players have not been part of the Cubs’ current operating procedure.
  • Jordan Hicks is on the Cardinals roster and pitching valuable innings, but he’s also still completing his ramp-up process as he returns from a 22-month layoff, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Hicks has tossed seven innings over six appearances, giving up just one earned run on two hits while walking six and striking out seven. More importantly, his stuff has looked as electric as ever, averaging 99.2 mph on his sinking fastball.

Pirates Designate Dovydas Neverauskas For Assignment

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The Pirates announced they’ve designated right-hander Dovydas Neverauskas for assignment. That was necessary to open roster space for the activation of a handful of players from the 60-day injured list. Anthony Alford, Phillip Evans, Michael Feliz, Clay Holmes and Jameson Taillon have all returned to Pittsburgh’s 40-man roster, which is currently full.

Neverauskas generated some headlines early in his MLB career, as he became the first (and to date, only) Lithuanian big leaguer. He has gone on to appear in 76 games for Pittsburgh over the past four seasons, working a total of 80.2 relief innings. Neverauskas has managed just a 6.81 ERA over that time. He’s been particularly plagued by the long ball, having surrendered twenty home runs (2.23 HR/9). That trend continued in 2020, as the 27-year-old coughed up five homers in 19 innings en route to a 7.11 ERA.

To his credit, Neverauskas induced swings and misses at a solid 12.8% clip this year. He also boasts high-end spin on his curveball and hasn’t yet reached arbitration, so it’s possible another team could take a look. Neverauskas is out of minor-league options, though, meaning any claiming team would need to keep him on their active roster or again expose him to waivers.

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