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As the Phillies wrapped up the 2023 offseason, one open bench spot remained towards the end of January. Matt Vierling and Nick Maton had already been dealt to Detroit and there wasn't really an internal utility guy besides Scott Kingery.
The Fightins already had their backup catcher in Garrett Stubbs, a defensive substitution in Edmundo Sosa, and left handed options in Jake Cave, Kody Clemens, and Darick Hall. So what else did this team need?
How about a veteran utility guy coming off of an okay season, with experience at about five positions? Sure, sounds good. Surely he can’t be that bad, right? Well, the Josh Harrison experiment - round two failed yet again.
I can’t tell you one thing he did in 2023, besides pitch on Opening Day.
Josh Harrison is the first position player pitching this season pic.twitter.com/9sj3ng38Jt
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 1, 2023
2023 stats w Phillies: 41 G, 114 PA, .204/.263/.291, 2 HR, 10 RBI, -2 DRS, -0.6 fWAR
The good
JOSH HARRISON SIGHTINGpic.twitter.com/kNVYMfadHd
— Phillies HR Tracker (@PHI_HR_Tracker) April 18, 2023
He hit this homer in April as a part of a three-hit-effort with four RBI. He definitely helped the Phils on that one, singular, day.
There really isn't any other good. I searched and scoured X, box scores, Google, and that HR is all I can find for you.
The bad
Harrison’s numbers really tell the story of a veteran who can’t compete at the big league level anymore. It was worth the flier for the Phils, as they didn’t really have many internal options for that spot, so much so that they replaced him with Rodolfo Castro. Yeah that didn't work either.
J-Hay did not give the Phils anything defensively and his bat dropped off so significantly that he did not make it back to the bigs in 2023 after his release.
The future
He latched on with the Rangers AAA team for ten days towards the end of August before opting out of his contract. It’s highly unlikely we’ll see the two time All Star receive another big league deal. He could find himself a Spring Training invite somewhere, though he may just call it a career.
So long, friend. I’m glad this stint lasted past Spring Training. I really wish it worked out as he's a lovable guy. It just didn't in any way.
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