Report: Phillies sign former All-Star Reliever

The Phillies have reportedly signed 32-year old right-handed reliever Neftali Feliz to a minor-league contract. The deal has been reported by a reporter named Silfredo Melo, from Feliz’ hometown of Azua in the Dominican Republic.
The deal is said to include an invite to spring training. Feliz hasn’t appeared in the majors since 2017. In 2010 with the Texas Rangers, he won AL Rookie of the Year and made the All-Star Team posting 40 saves with a 2.73 ERA.
Over his first five years in the MLB, Feliz had a 2.53 EPA in 198 appearances before undergoing Tommy John Surgery in 2012. He became a journeyman the next two years, and accumulated a 5.06 ERA with five different teams during that time. From there, he’s found himself on minor league deals the past three years.
Last year, the Phillies made similar moves to bring in low-risk bullpen help and we all know how that turned out. Hopefully Feliz will find better success than Drew Storen, Bud Norris, Francisco Liriano, and Anthony Swarzak.
The bullpen, as well as catcher and shortstop need to be a priority for Dave Dombrowski this offseason. We’re going to need a little more than this before heading to Clearwater for Spring Training.
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