Phillies sign Red Sox fan-favorite Josh Ockimey to minor-league contract

The Phillies have signed fan-favorite Red Sox minor-leaguer Josh Ockimey

One of the most popular players in the Boston Red Sox farm system is now a member of the Philadelphia Phillies.

On Monday, Josh Ockimey announced that he has signed with his hometown team.

Born and raised in Philadelphia, Ockimey was a high school standout from the jump. The Red Sox drafted him in the fifth round, and he signed with them rather than attend college.

While Ockimey was a draft pick in 2014, the year before Dave Dombrowski became Boston’s General Manager, he did watch the infielder rise through the system for the five years they overlapped. And Dombrowski has made it a habit of bringing talent with him from ball club to ball club; JD Martinez, David Price, and Rick Porcello were all Tigers who became Sox.

Ockimey has yet to make his big-league debut, but it’s not hard to see him getting playing time with the Phillies, especially if he’s able to work with their talented new hitting coach, Kevin Long, to reduce his strikeout rate. He’s already proven he can hit for power, between 2019 and 2021 (the 2020 MiLB season was canceled), he hit a combined 40 home runs over 220 games. The Phillies let go of outfielders Odubel Herrera and Andrew McCutchen after last season, so they are currently heading into 2022 with even less bat power than before.

This marks the second former Sox minor-league signing in less than a week; the Phillies also tendered a minor-league contract to Yairo Muñoz, Ockimey’s Triple-A teammate who set a new organizational record with his 35-game hitting streak during the 2021 MiLB season. Ockimey also joins fellow area native Joe Gatto, whom the Phillies signed to a minor-league contract in December.

Ockimey is one of the most uplifting players I’ve ever had the pleasure of covering; during the baseball season, he starts every day by tweeting this:

As evidenced by the well-wishes in the replies and quote-tweets, Ockimey endeared himself to Sox fans and media members during his seven seasons in the organization. Without a doubt, Phillies fans are going to love him, too; after all, he’s one of you.