Veteran infielder Ronald Torreyes has requested and been granted his release by the Phillies, tweets Matt Gelb of The Athletic. Torreyes had been with the Phils on a minor-league pact but is now a free agent who is free to explore opportunities with other clubs.
Torreyes, 29, has gotten out to a slow start in Triple-A Lehigh Valley this season, hitting just .171/.237/.200 while seeing time at second base, shortstop and third base. The Phillies’ recent move to option top prospect Bryson Stott to Lehigh Valley surely stood to impact the playing time available to Torreyes — which may have been a contributing factor in his decision to request his release.
Last season, Torreyes appeared in 111 games with the Phils and took 344 turns at the plate, posting a .242/.286/.346 slash that rated well below the league average (32% worse, by measure of wRC+). He provided some value with the glove, appearing at third base, shortstop, second base and center field — with particularly strong marks for his defensive work at the hot corner (2 Defensive Runs Saved, 2.9 Ultimate Zone Rating, 4 Outs Above Average in 354 innings).
Torreyes is a favorite of Phillies skipper Joe Girardi, dating back to the pair’s time together with the Yankees, but it seems there’s no opportunity for him at the MLB level presently. As such, he’ll head into free agency in search of a new opportunity — ideally with a club that is thin in terms of its infield options at the moment. In 983 plate appearances in the majors, Torreyes is a .265/.299/.361 hitter who has fanned at just a 12.6% clip.
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