Phillies: 7 players fighting for an Opening Day roster spot this spring
By David Esser
Josh Harrison, Infielder
Josh Harrison is one of those low-risk veteran signings who was inked to a minor-league deal. However, unlike most, Harrison brings with him a long history of legitimate major league success.
Harrison is a career .273 hitter who’s been selected to two All-Star games, both with the Pittsburgh Pirates (where he played with current Phillie Andrew McCutchen). While Harrison has seen a serious drop in production the last two years (mainly due to age and injury), the possibility of him being an above average bench bat is very much there.
With last year’s go-to utility infielder Brad Miller headed off to St. Louis, Harrison is mainly competing with himself to land a major league contract this spring.
Neil Walker, Infielder
Almost an identical situation to the previously mentioned Josh Harrison, Neil Walker is a utility infielder who used to play for the Pirates. Walker is a career .267 hitter who primarily plays second base. Like Harrison, he won some hardware in Pittsburgh, earning a Silver Slugger for his performances in 2014.
Walker played 115 games for Miami last year, hitting .261 while driving in 38 runs. His best days are surely behind him, but the potential for him to be a useful backup option for the Phillies in their infield is very much there. Seeing as he’s realistically only competing with someone like Phil Gosselin for that second backup infielder spot, he’s almost a lock for the job.