Domonic Brown's career with Phillies is over
Three summers ago, Domonic Brown represented the Phillies and the National League in Major League Baseball's All-Star Game at Citi Field.
Three summers ago, Domonic Brown represented the Phillies and the National League in Major League Baseball's All-Star Game at Citi Field.
On Monday, after none of baseball's other 29 teams deemed him worthy of a waiver claim, the Phillies removed Brown outright from their 40-man roster.
Brown, one of the biggest prospect busts in recent years, can elect free agency immediately and is expected to do so in the coming days. The oft-maligned 28-year-old outfielder was set to be arbitration eligible for a second time this winter. He made $2.6 million this season.
Brown will be remembered most for the vast potential he never reached, save for a torrid six-week stretch in the first half of 2013. He failed to adjust to pitchers' adjustments after his all-star campaign that season and regressed in 2014 into one of baseball's worst everyday players. The Phillies' attempts to trade him were unsuccessful.
A 189-at-bat sample size this season (.228, five homers) didn't lend any more reason for optimism. The Phillies were not expected to tender Brown a contract in December. Monday's decision expedited that process, giving Brown more time to attempt to catch on with another organization. The Phillies also removed Tommy Joseph, Kelly Dugan, and Brian Bogusevic outright from their roster.
"I think it's time for both of us to move on," Phillies interim general manager Scott Proefrock said. "In Domonic's particular case, since the first half of the 2013 season he hasn't been a consistent performer for us.
"I think it was to the point where we attempted over the course of the last few years to try to make a deal for him and didn't find any matches. Obviously, the fact that he cleared through waivers unclaimed indicates that his stock has fallen not only with us but within the industry, for whatever reason.
"There's a time to move on. We wish him well and hope things turn around for him."
Brown, once regarded by Baseball America as the top prospect in all of baseball, played only two full seasons as an everyday player for the Phillies. In 2013 he slugged 27 home runs and drove in 83 runs while posting an .818 on-base plus slugging percentage. A 12-homer binge that May earned him NL player of the month honors.
But with heightened expectations, Brown disappointed in 2014, hitting only 10 home runs and posting a dismal .634 OPS. His 2015 season began with triple-A Lehigh Valley. He was promoted back to the majors in June but again recorded a .634 OPS. A concussion he suffered Sept. 2 when tumbling over a Citi Field wall in pursuit of a fly ball prematurely ended another underwhelming season.
"It's a game of adjustments and obviously the league made an adjustment to him and he didn't make an adjustment to their adjustment, apparently," Proefrock said. "I know he had a few injuries and setbacks along the way and that obviously could impact things as well. But I just don't think he made the adjustments that were necessary."
Accounting for those who will become free agents after the World Series, the Phillies' 40-man roster stands at 31 players. Joseph, the centerpiece of the 2012 trade that sent Hunter Pence to the San Francisco Giants, remains with the organization because he has not accrued enough minor-league service time. The 24-year-old, once a touted catching prospect, moved to first base this season after the latest in a series of concussions.
Dugan, a 2009 second-round draft pick, has the ability to become a minor-league free agent five days after the World Series. The oft-injured corner outfielder, 25, struggled after an August promotion to triple A. Bogusevic, a journeyman outfielder who will be 32 next season, can become a free agent immediately.
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