Phillies add Lancaster native as non-roster invitee

Three years after outfielder Travis Jankowski appeared in 76 games for the Philadelphia Phillies, the club has added another Lancaster native to their organization.

Sunday morning, the Phillies announced that they signed catcher Cam Gallagher to a minor-league contract, which includes a non-roster invite to big-league Spring Training.

Gallagher attended Manheim Township High School in Lancaster, and was a second-round pick by the Kansas City Royals in 2011. The 31-year-old has spent parts of seven seasons at the MLB level, primarily with the Royals, before appearing in 56 games with the Cleveland Guardians a season ago. He’s a career .211 hitter with 46 RBIs and a .573 OPS in 618 career plate appearances.

While Gallagher has never been much of a hitter at the MLB level, he has generally received strong marks for his work behind the plate. A year ago, Gallagher posted seven defensive runs saved in 420 1/3 innings behind the plate for the Guardians. For his career, Gallagher has 18 defensive runs saved. He’s also got a 14.4 career mark for his framing behind the dish.

At a minimum, Gallagher will give the Phillies another competent camp body capable of catching. Barring an injury to either J.T. Realmuto or Garrett Stubbs, there isn’t a catcher’s job open at the MLB level with the Phillies. But as Matt Gelb of The Athletic noted, Rafael Marchan is currently dealing with a back injury. Gallagher can take down some innings in Grapefruit League play, and perhaps would be a candidate to open the season at Triple-A Lehigh Valley, particularly if Marchan is still banged up.

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