Phillies release Bud Norris, add Rafael Marchan and Austin Davis to player pool
The Phillies made three roster moves Thursday afternoon, releasing veteran reliever Bud Norris and adding catcher Rafael Marchan and left-handed reliever Austin Davis to their player pool.
Marchan and Davis were both placed on the 10-day injured list, likely with what manager Joe Girardi on Wednesday labeled a “medical illness.”
Marchan, a defensive-minded 21-year-old backstop, drew praise from Girardi down in Clearwater five months ago.
“The kid does a lot of things right,” Girardi said of Marchan in February. “Defensively, he’s going to save you runs by catching. Those are RBIs for me. He’s going to save you a lot of runs catching.
“He doesn’t have to show power. He just has to hit, be an adequate hitter, or he could become a really good hitter. Take his walks, handle the bat. I’m not comparing here, but Carlos Ruiz was not a great hitter when he first came up. He’s got talent and you hope he figures out the bat part of it because if he does, you have something really special.”
In 351 plate appearances last season at Class A Lakewood and High A Clearwater, Marchan hit .261/.333/.325 without a home run. He did walk (30) nearly as much as he struck out (39).
The Phillies’ initial player pool included three catchers: J.T. Realmuto, Andrew Knapp and 24-year-old Deivy Grullon, whose offense is ahead of his defense. On July 5, they added catchers Logan O’Hoppe and Henri Lartigue.
Davis, 27, has appeared in 46 games for the Phillies the last two seasons, posting a 5.04 and 1.50 WHIP in 55⅓ with 62 strikeouts. Lefties have done a lot of damage against him, hitting .286/.375/.548.
As for Norris, he was signed to a minor-league deal in late January after not appearing in the majors in 2019. He saved 28 games with a 3.59 ERA for the Cardinals in 2018 but hasn’t been able to stick with a team since.
Subscribe and rate the Phillies Talk podcast:
Apple Podcasts / Google Play / Spotify / Stitcher / Art19 / YouTube
More on the Phillies
-
Pedro Martinez expresses love for Phillies, regret over how his run ended
-
Phillies exec mourns brother, warns of the pain coronavirus can cause
