David Dahl
It has been quite the whirlwind season for veteran outfielder David Dahl, who signed during the offseason to a minor league contract to help add some valuable outfield depth to the organization. Little did the Phillies know that Dahl would end up torching minor league pitching, forcing the Phillies’ hand to give him his shot in early June when Brandon Marsh landed on the IL. They selected his contract and added him to the 26- and 40-man rosters.
He started off strong, belting two home runs in his first three games following his promotion. However, that turned out to be the main highlight of his Phillies’ tenure. He struggled to a .154 average and .427 OPS, with three runs scored, one home run, six RBI along with a whopping 20 strikeouts in 52 at-bats over his next 16 games.
So when the Phillies needed to make room for Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber to return from the IL in early July, Dahl was designated for assignment and elected free agency after clearing waivers.
Lo and behold, Dahl returned on another minor league contract at the end of July. However, with the Phillies adding Austin Hays at the trade deadline, it gave the team a luxury of riches in the outfield with either Johan Rojas or Brandon Marsh as their backup fourth outfielder.
The chances of Dahl getting another opportunity with the club seem slim, and he'll likely be gone at season’s end, especially when the Phillies even pivoted to Cal Stevenson instead of Dahl when Hays landed on the IL recently.