By Sam Bush
The Phillies have signed utilityman Josh Harrison to a one-year, $2 million deal, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.
The 35-year-old batted .256/.317/.370 with seven home runs and two stolen bases in 119 games last season for the White Sox while appearing defensively at second base, third base, shortstop, left field, and even a few mop-up relief pitching appearances.
The big majority of Harrison’s playing time was at second base, which has been his primary position over 12 Major League seasons. He still drew above-average grades from Defensive Runs Saved and Outs Above Average at the position (and at third base) during his time in Chicago last season.
Harrison has played for five different teams over those 12 seasons, though he was formerly a member of the Phillies organization without ever seeing any action on the field. Philadelphia inked Harrison to a minor league deal during the 2019-20 offseason, but he was released just prior to the start of the COVID-shortened 2020 season.
With a guaranteed MLB deal in hand, Harrison can presumably be plugged onto the Opening Day roster in Philadelphia as an option off the bench, joining Edmundo Sosa and Dalton Guthrie as position-player depth. Bryson Stott is the projected starter at second base for the reigning NL champions and Alec Bohm has stated an impressive case that he can be the long-term answer at third.
Josh Harrison to Phillies. $2M, 1 year.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 29, 2023
