Phillies agree to one-year contract with veteran utility man Josh Harrison
The 35-year-old utlityman has made starts at four positions over the last three years.
Josh Harrison’s first stint with the Phillies lasted for seven months, did not include a regular-season game, and ended with him asking for his release in the midst of a restarted training camp in the dystopic summer of 2020.
Three years later, he’s back as a potentially versatile member of the bench.
Harrison agreed to terms Sunday on a one-year contract with the Phillies, his agency announced via Twitter. The 35-year-old utility player will make $2 million, according to a source. The Phillies did not announce the deal because it’s pending the completion of a physical. They also must clear a spot on the 40-man roster in order to add Harrison.
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After being released from a minor-league contract with the Phillies in 2020, Harrison extended his career with the Washington Nationals. He got traded to the Oakland Athletics in 2021 and played for the Chicago White Sox last year.
Harrison batted .270/.332/.390 with 18 homers, 12 stolen bases, and a 102 OPS+ in 290 games over the last three seasons. In 119 games last season, he batted .256/.317/.370 with seven homers.
But Harrison’s value to the Phillies would be as a right-handed hitter with positional flexibility. He has made starts at second base, third base, left field, and right field since 2000.
With a club-record payroll that projects to approach the second tier of the luxury-tax threshold ($253 million), the Phillies won’t have much roster drama in spring training. Even the bench, an area that figured to include some competition, is taking shape.
Slick-fielding infielder Edmundo Sosa, backup catcher Garrett Stubbs, and Harrison likely will have spots on the bench. Lefty-hitting infielder Kody Clemens has a chance to win a job after coming over from Detroit in the trade that netted reliever Gregory Soto.
That would leave one spot to be filled from among outfielder Dalton Guthrie and lefty-swinging Darick Hall and Jake Cave.