Addison Russ is the first known member of the Phillies’ 60-man player pool
In less than 24 hours, the Philadelphia Phillies must name 60 players that they will add to their player pool.
Several non-roster invitees that were invited to big-league camp in February are expected to receive a similar invitation for when “spring training 2” gets underway on Wednesday.
Among them will be right-handed reliever Addison Russ, according to MLB.com’s William Boor.
The Phillies drafted Russ, 25, in the 19th round of the 2017 amateur draft out of Houston Baptist University. The Amarillo, Texas, native pitched in 55 games and finished 50 last season at Double-A Reading, posting a 2.54 ERA, 1.182 WHIP, and 81-20 strikeout-to-walk ratio spanning 56 2/3 innings.
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Russ’ eye-catching numbers with the Fightin’ Phils carried over into spring training in February and March as a non-roster invitee; across six appearances and 5 2/3 innings, he yielded just one run — a solo home run — five hits and three walks, while striking out five of his 24 batters faced en route to a 1.59 ERA.
A nice spot for Addison Russ to show what he can do in a jam. After coming in with two outs and the bases loaded, Russ aggressively attacks the hitter and gets the strikeout to end the inning. An intriguing bullpen arm who could help the Phillies at some point this season.
— Meghan Montemurro (@M_Montemurro) March 9, 2020
Manager Joe Girardi and pitching coach Bryan Price saw plenty of Russ in camp compared to other pitchers; his six appearances tied for the most with fellow non-roster invitee Trevor Kelley (6 G, 6 1/3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 9 SO).
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Russ is the first known member of the Phillies’ 60-man player pool; he has never appeared in regular season action above the Double-A level.
The Phillies will not open their alternate training site — likely in Lehigh Valley — right away; therefore, all 60 players will report to Citizens Bank Park.
To encourage social distancing and ensure there is enough space for each member of the 60-man pool, the Phillies are expected to stagger workouts, as well as take advantage of nearby fields at FDR Park, among other measures.
The shortened 60-game season is expected to begin July 24.