Tony Gwynn Jr. resigned to Minor League contract

The Philadelphia Phillies have resigned outfielder Tony Gwynn Jr, according to Ryan Lawrence, the Philadelphia Daily News Phillies beat writer.

Released just 6 days ago, Tony will join up with the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs. Many criticised the timing of the release, sighting sympathetic feelings towards his Father’s passing delaying his inevitable release.

Prior to being cut, Gwynn Jr. was hitting just .163 for the Phillies through 67 games and 98 at-bats. With 16 hits, including 2 doubles and a triple, as well as 3 RBIs and 2 steals, Gwynn wasn’t entirely fruitless in his stint, but his productivity was certainly lacking. He managed to work the count fairly well, walking 15 times and managing a .281 OBP despite his awful batting average.

In his 8 years in the Majors, including spells with Milwaukee (3 years), the Dodgers (2 years), the Padres (2 years), Gwynn Jr. has an average of .239 and an OBP of .310. On average, he hits 12 doubles and 6 triples a season, with 24 RBIs and 9 steals a season.

When cut, there was reports that the San Diego Padres had an interest in re-signing Gwynn Jr., but reports came through that is was not the case, and the Padres denied interest at any stage.

Its a sorry state of affairs unfolding in Philadelphia, and the campaign to fire Ruben Amaro Jr. is growing stronger and stronger, with many joining the bandwagon based on an event-less trade deadline and mysterious roster moves.

Reactions have been expectedly satirical, with comments on Twitter jesting about this signing being the “final piece in the jigsaw” and “a masterstroke by Amaro”. While this is hardly a huge deal, teammates have said that Gwynn is a good guy to have around in the locker room, and who knows, his 6 days away from the game may have rekindled his hitting prowess.

Let’s face it though, probably not.