Phillies Acquire Miller, Will Activate Quinn in Bench Shakeup

The Phillies held their annual Phestival to raise money for the fight against ALS on Thursday evening.  Bench players Nick Williams, Sean Rodriguez, and Phil Gosselin were all in attendance signing autographs for fans. But when the Phillies report to Atlanta for a weekend series against the Braves, their four-man bench could look very different.

The Phillies announced on Thursday that they have acquired infielder Brad Miller from the New York Yankees in exchange for cash considerations.  Miller is a left-handed bat who has at times served as a starting second baseman and first baseman for the Tampa Bay Rays.  In his best season, he hit 30 home runs for the Rays.

Miller appeared in 13 games for the Cleveland Indians this season, batting .250 with one home run and four runs batted in during his 36 at bats.  He played exclusively second base for the Indians.  After being designated for assignment and released by the Indians, Miller signed a minor league deal with the Yankees.

At Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre, Miller batted .294 with 10 home runs and 29 runs batted in.

Miller will not be the only change in the Phillies bench this weekend.  The Phillies are expected to activate outfielder Roman Quinn.  Quinn could see some time in center field while Scott Kingery shifts to some third base.   Quinn will be returning as exclusively a right-handed hitter, so a straight platoon will not be likely, as Quinn, Kingery, and third baseman Maikel Franco are all right-handed.

The move means that two of Williams, Gosselin, and Rodriguez will depart.  Williams has a minor league option available.  Since Quinn is an outfielder and Miller is left-handed, Williams could be optioned to Triple-A.   Gosselin and Rodriguez have similar numbers (batting .245 and .250, respectively) and are versatile in the field, so it remains to be seen who the other move will be.

The Phillies will open the series against the Braves 1.5 games behind the Braves in the National League East standings.