Phillies sign utilityman Ronald Torreyes to minors deal

The Phillies have signed infielder Ronald Torreyes to a minor league deal with an invite to big league camp, according to Matt Gelb of The Athletic. That makes this three years in a row that Torreyes and the Phils have signed such a deal.

Torreyes, 29, is a veteran of seven seasons, also spending time with the Dodgers, Yankees and Twins. He’s never hit a ton, but is useful off the bench as he can provide quality defense at multiple positions and puts the ball in play.

In 352 career games, Torreyes a slash line of .265/.299/.361, wRC+ of 76. His career strikeout rate of 12.6% is just barely over half the usual league average (average was 23.2% last year). He only played four games for the Phils in 2020 but got into 112 games last year, hitting .242/.286/.346, for a wRC+ of 68. Defensively, he saw significant time at third base, shortstop and second base, as well as a brief appearance in center field.

Cracking the big league roster for a third year in a row might be a challenge for Torreyes. The club projects to start the season with Jean Segura at second, Didi Gregorius at short and Alec Bohm at third. Johan Camargo was signed prior to the lockout to serve the bench/utility role, and the 40-man roster also features optionable infielders such as Luke Williams and Nick Maton.