According to U-T San Diego's Dennis Lin, catcher Wil Nieves, who appeared in 36 games with the Phillies throughout the 2014 season, has signed with the San Diego Padres to a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training.
Lin adds that Nieves, 37, will compete for the backup catching role to newly acquired Derek Norris. Nieves had a similar role in Philadelphia last season behind Carlos Ruiz, where he batted .254 in 122 at-bats with eight doubles, a home run, and seven runs-batted-in.
As pitchers and catchers are due to report in a little over two weeks from now, February 18th, and barring any additional signing prior, there will be five candidates closely looked at this Spring down in Clearwater to replace Nieves next season, two on the 40-man roster and three non-roster invitees.
The two candidates currently on the Phillies' 40-man roster are Cameron Rupp, who has 15 hits in 73 major-league at-bats, and Tommy Joseph, who was acquired on July 31, 2012 in the Hunter Pence trade.
Despite rumors of Joseph changing positions this upcoming season due to him being prone to concussions, general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. expects the 23-year-old prospect to remain as a catcher moving forward. Joseph's left wrist underwent surgery in August, however, which could set him back going into Spring Training.
The three non-roster invitees include Rene Garcia, John Hester, and Koyie Hill. Hill has the most Major League experience at 341 games over 11 seasons, 6 with the Chicago Cubs. Last season, the 35-year-old catcher appeared in 10 games with the Phillies, batting .238 and fielding zero errors over 45 defensive chances.
Garcia, 24, batted .258 over seven seasons in the Astros' minor league system. He has a .986 fielding percentage behind the plate in 3,377 defensive chances. In comparison, Hester, 31, has zero errors in 452 defensive chances over four seasons combined in the Diamondbacks and Angels' system. His offense lacks the most production out of all of the before-mentioned candidates, as he has just 15 runs-batted-in over 208 career at-bats.
Matt Rappa (@mattrappa) is a contributor to Philliedelphia.com.
