Inside The Phillies

Phillies Catch Major Break After Re-Signing Important Depth Infielder

The Philadelphia Phillies have an important depth piece back in the mix after re-signing him to a deal.

Brad Wakai

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One of the most notable camp battles for the Philadelphia Phillies this spring was regarding who would take the final spot on the bench.

It was largely expected that Weston Wilson would assume that role based on his versatile defense and the power potential he possesses. But when he went down with an oblique injury, that opened up the competition for others who were in the mix.

One player in the thick of things was Buddy Kennedy.

The Millville, N.J. product ultimately lost out as the final cut, with Kody Clemens getting the nod instead of him. Since Kennedy was out of minor league options, the Phillies had to put him through waivers after designating him for assignment where another team could claim him.

Fortunately, no team did.

That allowed Philadelphia to outright him to Triple-A Lehigh Valley where he would have remained part of their organization as an important depth piece. However, Kennedy was able to refuse that assignment if he wanted, something he did by electing to become a free agent.

This put the Phillies in a tough spot.

Kennedy, who showed he can play at the Major League level in spurts last season, is viewed favorably by the organization, and if someone in the infield were to go down with an injury, they would have been confident turning things over to him for as long as they needed.

Not having that option would have made things shaky.

Philadelphia caught a break, though.

According to Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors, Kennedy signed a minor league deal with the Phillies that will keep him within the organization.

While his opting out might have been the plan all along so the two sides could rework things, him hitting the open market could have resulted in him playing elsewhere.

Thankfully, Philadelphia doesn't have to find that out for the time being with Kennedy now back.

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Brad Wakai
BRAD WAKAI

Brad Wakai graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Journalism. While an undergrad, he did work at the student radio station covering different Penn State athletic programs like football, basketball, volleyball, soccer and other sports. Brad currently is the Lead Contributor for Nittany Lions Wire of Gannett Media where he continues to cover Penn State athletics. He is also a contributor at FanSided, writing about the Philadelphia 76ers for The Sixers Sense. Brad is the host of the sports podcast I Said What I Said, discussing topics across the NFL, College Football, the NBA and other sports. You can follow him on Twitter: @bwakai

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