The Philadelphia Phillies agreed to a minor-league deal, that includes an invitation to what's left of Spring Training, with outfielder Will Venable, the club announced Monday.
#Phillies have signed OF Will Venable to a minor league contract with an invitation to attend major league spring training.
— Phillies (@Phillies) March 28, 2016
This signing doesn't come as a surprise, as ESPN's Jayson Stark recently suggested that the Phillies were looking to add another outfielder and CSN Philly's Jim Salisbury reported this morning that the Phillies were showing 'strong interest' in the outfielder this morning.
The 33-year-old became a free-agent after opting out of his minor-league deal with the Cleveland Indians this past weekend.
Venable split last season with the San Diego Padres and the Texas Rangers, batting .244 with six home runs and 33 RBIs, while also swiping 16 bags. In 2013, Fangraphs estimates that Venable posted a 3.0 WAR, while batting .268 with 22 home runs and 55 RBIs.
Venable, as the team noted in their release, won't be guaranteed a spot on the major league roster, but him signing this close to the season would seem to indicate that he has a pretty good shot at making the team. That would mean that one of Cedric Hunter or David Lough is now less likely to make the team.
Venable's contract will presumably contain an opt-out clause that will allow him to become a free-agent if he isn't on the big-league roster by a certain date.
Tim Kelly (@TimKellySports) is the managing editor of Philliedelphia.com focusing on news and features.
