Baltimore Orioles New Lefty Zach Phillips

The Baltimore Orioles have signed free agent left-handed reliever Zach Phillips to a one-year deal.

Phillips was removed from the 40-man roster of the White Sox last week and elected free agency. He returns to the Orioles organization after having spent some time with them a few years ago.

Is this what it has come to? The Orioles are needing to add castoffs from the Chicago White Sox? Well, yes. Lefties are not easy to come by, the Birds have a particular deficit of such talents at the moment, and one of the presumed bullpen lefties looks unable to start the season due to a back ailment. This is Brian Matusz of course.

It would certainly appear that Phillips is likely to make the roster, in spite of Buck protesting that this is simply another guy to look at.

Without doubt, opponents are going to load up with left-handed hitting lineups against the Orioles’ complete rotation of all right-handed pitching. Following the starters with a lefty is a good option and strategy for the O’s, if they have the talent to be successful at all.

So, does Phillips have the talent? Only time will tell, but let’s look at some numbers for the 29-year-old.

2015 – Phillips spent the season at AAA Charlotte. Being positive, let’s highlight the best news: he only gave up one home run in 54.2 innings. That is a skill that could play well in Baltimore as a long / middle innings reliever. The 3.13 ERA is at least decent, as is 10.5 strikeouts per nine innings. However, 3.3 walks per nine is a bit on the high side, probably demonstrating some high pitch counts.

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2014 – This year was spent with the Hiroshima Carp. He actually only pitched 11 innings in nine games to a 3.27 ERA.

2011-2013 MLB – His 15.2 innings in the big leagues are in these three years, with a total ERA of 3.45.  His best experience was with the O’s in 2011, throwing eight innings in 10 games, and only giving up a single run (1.13 ERA).  So there is not a lot of MLB experience to go on.

AAA Numbers – Phillips has some extensive time at this level over five seasons, totaling 218 games with a 3.19 ERA.  That is serviceable. But the WHIP is too high at 1.400, exacerbated by a 4.0 BB/9 innings. This appears to be the bugaboo for him. Can “Fresh Eyes & Co.” help him out?  Darren O’Day? Heck, Ubaldo?

I think we are going to find out the answer. He sounds like a great guy, so we hope for the best and for a late bloomer to seize an opportunity.

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Typical of players who have lived on the fringe of making it in baseball, Phillips has worn a total of 14 different uniforms — nine minor league teams, three major league teams, and one each in Puerto Rico and Japan.