Fryer Retires Instead of Reporting to Phillies Camp
Wednesday is the day that pitchers and catchers report to Clearwater to mark the beginning of 2018 Spring Training. The Phillies added some catching depth this offseason to help fill out their Spring Training staff and create some depth in the organization. However, one catcher will not report.
According to a team announcement, Eric Fryer has decided to retire at age 32.
Fryer, who has major league experience with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Saint Louis Cardinals, was not likely to make the Phillies major league roster, but would have likely served as depth at Triple-A Lehigh Valley in case of injury. The Phillies have three catchers on the 40-man roster already in Jorge Alfaro, Andrew Knapp and Cameron Rupp.
With Fryer out of the mix, the Phillies have Logan Moore, Edgar Cabral and Matt McBride as extra catching depth in major league camp. The Phillies could look to add another catcher on a minor league deal to help fill out their Spring staff. Most teams usually carry extra catchers with a large number of pitchers in camp.