Phillies Sign, Invite 7 Minor-League Players to Spring Training

By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor

The Philadelphia Phillies signed seven players on Friday, and none of them have a first name of "Manny," or a last name of "Machado."

According to MLB.com's Todd Zolecki, the club signed the following seven players to minor-league contracts, with invitations to attend Major League camp as non-roster invitees:



Bleich, 31, made his MLB debut just last season with the Oakland Athletics. Against just four batters faced, the southpaw recorded only one out while allowing two runs on two hits, one strikeout and one hit batter en route to a 54.00 ERA and 6.000 WHIP. Bleich was previously in the New York Yankees' system from 2008 to 2014, the Pittsburgh Pirates' in 2015, Phillies' in 2016, and the Los Angeles Dodgers' in 2017.

Brantly, 29, is a four-year veteran, logging 125 games overall between playing with the Miami Marlins in 2012-13, and the Chicago White Sox in 2015 and 2017. The San Diego, California, native is slashing a career .230/.294/.333 with 19 doubles, seven home runs, and 37 RBI spanning 428 plate appearances.

Gosselin, 30, was first reported to have signed with the Phillies on Tuesday, although it was not clear if his contract contained an invitation to big-league camp until now. The Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, native and Malvern Prep High School alumnus has played all but two non-pitching positions in the field throughout his career: center field and catcher. Gosselin has committed just nine errors spanning 881 1/3 innings and 406 chances.

Martin, 28, posted a combined 4-0 record with a 3.42 ERA, 32-8 strikeout-to-walk ratio and 1.139 WHIP spanning 26 1/3 innings, 22 relief appearances and one start within the Cleveland Indians' system in 2018.

McBride, 33, is a Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, native and alumnus of Lehigh University. McBride has a career .201/.228/.299 slash in the majors, with 72 games played with the Colorado Rockies (2012, 2014-15) and 20 games played with the Oakland Athletics (2016). McBride was among the Phillies' many spring training invitees last season, having signed him and nine others on January 3. Last season with the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs, McBride slashed .242/.333/.479 with 13 doubles, 10 home runs, and 26 RBI spanning 60 games.

Lehigh University writes:

McBride hit .350 with 198 hits, 56 doubles, 17 home runs and 86 RBIs in 149 career games for Lehigh. He was named Patriot League Player of the Year in 2006 after hitting a Patriot League-high .417 with 12 homers and 61 RBIs to earn the Patriot League Triple Crown for the first time in program history. He was also named an ABCA All-American for his incredible junior season.
 
The 2019 season will be McBride's 14th overall during his professional baseball career.

Petit, 34, is a six-year veteran that debuted over 10 years ago with the Athletics in May 2008. The Venezuela native was signed for his versatility, considering he has played first base, second base, shortstop, third base, left field and right field so far in his MLB career.

Robinson, 34, slashed just .143/.208/.224 spanning 25 games and 54 plate appearances last season with the Yankees. The nine-year veteran debuted with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2009 (2009, 2011-14), and has since played for the Minnesota Twins (2015), Los Angeles Angels (2016-17) and Yankees (2018).

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