Nix was good value off the bench in 2012. 2013? Not so much.
When Laynce Nix was signed by the Phillies in December 2011, he was signed to a two-year, $2.5 million deal in large part to replace Ross Gload as the main lefty option to hit off of the bench. Gload had been a pretty good value pick up for 2010 but had saw his triple-slash line fall off a cliff in 2011. To say the same happened with Nix is an understatement.
Nix had battled through a calf injury in 2012 but entered 2013 fully healthy. Charlie Manuel wrapped up Spring Training by announcing Nix would split time in right field with John Mayberry Jr. based on the opposing pitcher in large part due to Darin Ruf‘s inability to win an outfield job out of camp. By April 10, however, he was not playing against right-handed pitchers.
Nix’s performance in 2012 was worth about $2.1 million according to FanGraphs. His 2013 season? Negative $3.7 million. Nix never was able to get things rolling in 2013, hitting .180/.228/.258 with two homers and a steal. His triple-slash marks were 60, 78, and 159 points lower than his career averages in 2013. On August 12, 2013, Nix refused an outright assignment to Triple-A Lehigh Valley and became a free agent.
Grade: F. Signing Nix after the conclusion of 2011 was not a bad move. In fact, with Ryan Howard tearing his ACL in the final game of the Phillies 2011 season, Nix was seen as depth in both the outfield and first base. After a year where he was worth almost the entirety of his contract, Nix couldn’t lock down significant playing time even though it was his to lose out of camp and was unable to deliver in the limited time he did see. Nix is currently a free agent.
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