Phillies Sign Another Guy with a Thing

“Medical redshirt” is such a nasty term.  It makes you think of a despondent, broken athlete, arms folded, sitting crumpled on the sidelines with a comically large bandage around his head while his teammates practice and get better and laugh and laugh and laugh.

Andy Wells was forced into the role just two years ago, thanks to the nefarious schemes of Tommy John and his body part-rearranging surgery.  And just yesterday, Phillies scout John Hagemann smiled as he watched young Andy sign a deal with the club.

The Evansville Otters have not let being unaffiliated with any Major League team stop them from marginal success.  In fact, there isn’t a team in the entire Frontier League with ties to a professional franchise.  Sure, George Sherrill once donned an Evansville cap and the sneaky-looking otter it bears.  But other than that, there’s not a ton of bridges from the “Rascals,” “Wild Things,” and “CornBelters” to the Majors.

But, right-handed Andy Wells found one.  He’s been described as a “flamethrower,” by me, just now.  The Staten Island Advanced Sports Desk says he’s “hard-throwing,” but that doesn’t cook up as much imagery, and also they never say how hard he throws, so it’s kind of weirdly ambiguous.

Mysterious past or not, the Phillies have signed Andy Wells, a young, hard-throwing, right handed pitcher.  Okay?  Damn it.