Spring training is officially here! Thanks to the beat writers in attendance, pictures and videos began appearing on social media on Wednesday morning from the first day of the Philadelphia Phillies' training camp at the Carpenter Complex in Clearwater, Florida.
With pitchers and catchers in camp for their first workout, Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski gave his first press conference of the spring. He provided us some early updates on players who will be late to camp, but luckily, not for injury reasons.
Visa problems delay arrival to spring training for pair of Phillies pitchers
According to Dombrowski, right-handed pitchers Koyo Aoyagi and Guillo Zuñiga, both non-roster invitees, are delayed due to visa issues.
"A couple guys will be delayed just due to visa issues, they should be here by the end of the week," Dombrowski told the gathered media. "Koyo [Aoyagi] has got a couple days and [Guillo] Zuñiga has a couple days, but they should be here by the weekend."
The Phillies signed Aoyagi to a minor league deal out of Japan in January after not even getting a meeting with coveted star Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki. In nine seasons with the Hanshin Tigers in the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) league, the 31-year-old Aoyagi posted a 61-47 record with a 3.08 ERA. With a unique sidearm delivery, he made three All-Star appearances in Japan, in 2019, 2021 and 2022.
From the sounds of it, Aoyagi won't mind heading to Triple-A Lehigh Valley if he doesn't make the Opening Day roster out of camp.
"Well, he's somebody that our people from our international operation had brought to our attention ..." Dombrowski said of Aoyagi. "It's a situation where we liked him. He was looking for a big-league opportunity. It didn't come about for him at the very end.
"So it was a situation that we felt we liked him enough to bring him in and give him an opportunity, and he's willing to go to Triple-A too. So, compared to others who say they just want to go to the big league level, he's open-minded to go to Triple-A. We figured he gives us an opportunity to provide depth in the organization."
Zuñiga, 26, hails from Colombia. He signed a minor league contract with the Phillies in December after spending 2024 in the Los Angeles Angels organization. He appeared in 15 MLB games for the Angels, running a 5.08 ERA and 1.36 WHIP in 17 2/3 innings. He did pick up two saves.
Zuñiga also appeared in two major league games with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2023, giving up a run in two innings of work. He has also spent time in the minors with the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers. In 188 minor league appearances (15 starts), he has a 4.59 ERA with 314 strikeouts in 284 1/3 innings.