Phillies: 4 Players Who Would Benefit from 29-Man Roster

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Logan Forsythe, Philadelphia Phillies (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) /

Logan Forsythe, one of the Phillies’ 10 non-roster invitee infielders, was having a strong spring training prior to its pause.

In 11 games and 23 at-bats, he had collected eight hits (three singles, two doubles, three home runs), five runs scored, four RBI, five walks and six strikeouts, good for a .348/.464/.826 slash line. In 45 innings in the field, including eight starts, he committed zero errors across 13 chances, along with four putouts, nine assists, and one double play turned.

Overall, the Phillies could have not asked for much more out of Forsythe. So, can they guarantee one of the three extra spots for him? It’s not as simple. Given Forsythe is not on the 40-man roster, they would have to designate a current player to create room; perhaps either catchers Deivy Grullon or Andrew Knapp would fit the bill.

The Phillies signed the 33-year-old to a minor-league contract with an invitation to big-league camp on February 2. While he slashed just .227/.325/.353 with seven home runs in 367 plate appearances for the Texas Rangers in 2019, his career appeared to have found new life early on in spring training under Phillies hitting coaches Joe Dillon and Pedro Guerrero.

In essence, Forsythe could fill a utility player role that Scott Kingery had last season. Kingery is expected to be either the Phillies’ everyday second or third basemen, with Jean Segura assuming whichever position he does not play. Across his nine-season career, Forsythe has experience playing first, second and third base, along with shortstop and the corner outfield positions.

1. Logan Forsythe