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Phillies Sign Journeyman RP Jason Grilli

(Originally posted Jan. 29, 5:54 pm)

From Paul Hagen of the Philadelphia Daily News and Beerleaguer on CSNPhilly.com:

The Phillies have some interest in signing free-agent reliever Jason Grilli to a minor league contract, two sources confirmed yesterday. No agreement has been reached yet.

The 34-year-old righthander missed all of last season with a knee injury. He’s 18-18 with a 4.74 earned run average in an 8-year career with the Marlins, White Sox, Tigers, Rockies and Rangers.

Grilli was a first-round draft choice, out of Seton Hall, of the Giants in 1997, the fourth player selected overall. His best year was 2008, when he had a 3.00 combined ERA for Detroit and Colorado.

In 2009, he had a 5.32 ERA for Colorado and Texas and signed as a minor league free agent with the Indians before last season.

Just another working arm to add to the pile and hope he pans out for some organizational depth. Grilli has been around the block and its been a while since he’s been able to help a major league team. On the bright side, Grilli is only 34, so he may still be young enough to have something left in the tank. Look for him to end up at Lehigh Valley.

UPDATE, Monday Jan 31, 1:25 pm:

Jason Grilli has inked a minor league contract with the Phillies according to he and Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. Grilli posted on his twitter account that he’s looking forward to the City of Brotherly Love.

Zolecki confirmed the signing about an hour ago. Grilli has not been invited to major league camp.

Pat Gallen

Pat joined Phillies Nation in July 2009, coming over from Examiner.com. As a previous employee of both Comcast SportsNet and the National Basketball Association, Pat prides himself on being a well-rounded individual when it comes to sports. However, the Phillies are first on the list. You’ll usually find Pat chiming in on the Phillies Nation Facebook or Twitter account, weekdays on 97.3 ESPN radio or hosting Phillies Nation TV. He’s also a Senior Writer for the site, and in his free time is a music enthusiast and Will Ferrell movie-follower. His favorite beer: Philly’s own Yards. In 2015, Pat moved on from Phillies Nation as a sports anchor and reporter for CBS-3 in Philadelphia.