Report: Phillies Sign Five Players to Minor League Deals

Originally posted on FanNation Inside The Phillies
By Lauren Amour | Last updated 3/8/22

The Philadelphia Phillies have reportedly signed OF/PH Justin Williams, RHP James Marvel, INF Drew Maggi, C Karl Ellison, and 1B Joe Genord to minor league deals, per the team's transaction log on MLB.com.

Williams is the most noteworthy of the signings. The 26-year-old was drafted out of Terrebonne High School by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the second round of the 2013 MLB Draft. He spent two seasons in Arizona's minor league system before being traded to the Tampa Bay Rays, along with Andrew Velazquez, in 2014 in exchange for Jeremy Hellickson.

He made his major league debut with the Rays in July 2018, but had only one plate appearance for Tampa before being moved to the St. Louis Cardinals at the trade deadline. He was sent to St. Louis with Genesis Cabrera and Roel Ramirez in exchange for Tommy Pham. Williams spent the 2019 season in the minors, eventually making his Cardinals debut in 2020, seeing just six plate appearances.

In 2021, Williams appeared in 51 games and batted .160/.270/.261 with four home runs and 11 RBI. He could supply Philadelphia with some left-handed pop off of the bench.

Right-hander James Marvel was most recently with the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. He was drafted by Pittsburgh in the 36th round in the 2015 MLB Draft out of Duke University. He made his major league debut in Sept. 2019 with the Pirates, appearing in four games and pitching to a 8.31 ERA.

Last season with triple-A Indianapolis, the 28-year-old pitched 131.2 innings, struck out 98 batters, and posted a 5.26 ERA in 25 games.

Drew Maggi, 32, comes over from the Minnesota Twins' minor league system. He was drafted by the Pirates in the 15th round of the 2010 MLB Draft. He's spent 11 seasons in the minors, and in 2021, batted .252 with an .810 OPS, blasted 16 homers and drove in 50 runs with triple-A St. Paul.

26-year-old catcher Karl Ellison went undrafted out of college, attending both Vanderbilt University and Lynn University. He's since spent two seasons in the Frontier League with the Lake Erie Crushers. In 2021, he slashed .256/.303/.422 in 241 plate appearances, with eight home runs and 33 RBI.

And finally, first baseman Joe Genord, 25, was drafted by the New York Mets in the ninth round of 2019 MLB Draft. He spent 2021 with Mets' High-A affiliate Brooklyn Cyclones. In 227 PAs, Genord batted just .203 with seven homers and 20 RBI.

Williams was eligible to sign during the lockout "by virtue of going unclaimed on outright waivers and electing minor league free agency at the end of the 2021 season," according to MLB Trade Rumors. Williams has been invited to big league camp, whenever that gets underway, but none of the other four signees have been invited to Major League spring training.