Phils lose Tyler Goeddel to Reds on waivers
Due to a glut of young outfield talent at triple A, he would have started the season at double A with the Phillies.
CINCINNATI - Tyler Goeddel, who spent all of last season with the Phillies, was claimed off waivers Wednesday afternoon by the Reds after being designated for assignment last week to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Brock Stassi.
Cincinnati had the top priority on the waiver wire after finishing last season with the National League's worst record. Goeddel, 24, batted .192 with a .258 on-base percentage in 92 games last season with the Phillies, who had to keep the outfielder in the majors after drafting him first overall in the Rule 5 draft.
If Goeddel would have cleared waivers, he would have started this season at double A because the team's triple-A outfield is filled by Roman Quinn, Dylan Cozens, Nick Williams, and fourth outfielder Cam Perkins. The Phillies tried to trade him but were unsuccessful. He will begin the season with Cincinnati's triple-A team. It will be his first time playing at that level as he joined the Phillies after playing the entire 2015 season with Tampa Bay's double-A affiliate.
Goeddel's rookie season ended with two weeks left when he was hit in the head by a pitch and suffered a concussion. He showed some promise, including a strong month of May when he played every day and a terrific throw home to end a game against the Reds, his new team.
"It was definitely a big jump from double A," Goeddel said during spring training about last season. "But that one month I had, when I got to start, I know I did pretty well, so I have that confidence that I can play up there. I think that's huge. The more you can trust yourself when you're up there, the easier the transition is. I know I can play there now. It's exciting."
Goeddel, a first-round pick by Tampa Bay in 2011, batted .279 with a .350 on-base percentage at double A in 2015. He played a position the Phillies were desperate to fill last season and seemed to be an obvious choice for the No. 1 pick in the Rule 5 at a position of need.
But Goeddel struggled to catch up to a major-league fastball. The Phillies found Odubel Herrera a season earlier in the Rule 5 draft, but they were unable to hit the lottery this time. Joe Biagini, a righthanded reliever with Toronto, and Joey Rickard, an outfielder with Baltimore, were both drafted after Goeddel and had more productive rookie seasons. Goeddel will be playing for his third organization in three years.
"I learned a lot," Goeddel said. "Even though I didn't get the normal at-bats that you get in a year, I still learned a ton just being up there and working with the guys every day. You face the best pitchers in the world every day and it's tough to not carry what I learned last year into this year. I feel like I'm a lot better player this year than I was last year."
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