Phillies release former No. 1 overall draft pick Mark Appel

CLEARWATER, Fla. — On Saturday afternoon, Phillies pitcher Mark Appel logged onto Twitter and announced the launch of his new blog with a series of introspective musings about his life in baseball and its uncertain future. The thread, which generated over three million views and was shared thousands of times, portrayed Appel as an athlete who was both preparing himself for the 2023 season and the reality that it might never come.

“This isn’t just another season,” wrote the one-time top prospect, who has been trying to reinvent himself as a reliever after a three-year absence from the game. “This is likely my last.”

Less than 48 hours later, the Phillies announced that Appel had been released. The move brings to a close one of the more eventful chapters of the organization’s recent rebuild. Originally drafted No. 1 overall by the Astros in 2013, Appel landed with the Phillies in December of 2015 as one of the principle pieces in the trade that sent then-closer Ken Giles to Houston. He endured two rough years at triple-A Lehigh Valley before deciding to retire, a decision that lasted three full years.

» READ MORE: Mark Appel was once a can’t-miss prospect. Nine years later, the Phillies could finally make him a major leaguer.

In 2021, at the age of 29, he returned to the organization, eventually transitioning to the bullpen. He pitched well enough to earn himself a call-up last season, appearing in six games in late June and early August for a Phillies team that was desperately short on relievers.

While Appel pitched well enough in his cameo to finish the season with a 1.74 ERA, he entered this spring as a non-roster invitee who did not appear to have much of a shot at winning a big-league job. He allowed seven runs in 5⅔ innings of Grapefruit League play for a Phillies team that added a number of potential triple-A arms this offseason. He will now enter free agency at 31 years old.

From the moment Appel returned to the Phillies after his three-year hiatus, he made it clear that he was doing so with realistic expectations. Whether or not he catches on with another team, he may have some future as a writer. According to his latest update on Twitter, his new blog already has over 1,000 subscribers.