Yankees Sign ‘Electric’ Free Agent Pitcher/OF After Viral Outing

As MLB pitching prospects go, Brett Phillips is an odd one. He is 30 years old and yet was just signed by the Yankees to their Single-A squad in Tampa. He has a fireball fastball that he has never thrown in the big leagues, despite having played seven seasons in the majors. Phillips has knocked 31 home runs and, despite his promise as a pitcher, has recorded an ERA of 15.19 in 5.1 innings.

Yes, Phillips had a decent MLB career as an end-of-the-bench outfielder, spending most of his career with the Tampa Bay Rays. He played six minor-league seasons at the position before moving to the bigs, where he also played for the Royals, Brewers, Angels and Orioles.

But after showing off a 97-mph heater while playing for the GPS Legends, a training team out of Texas, during the National Baseball Congress World Series at Eck Stadium in Wichita, Kansas, this week, the Yankees quickly moved in to sign Phillips.

He was not a major trade deadline acquisition. But he could pay off, nonetheless.

After the signing, the GPS Twitter/X account posted, “Congrats @Brett_Phillips8 on your 1st professional pitching contract! Can’t wait to follow your journey.”

Brett Phillips Had Been With White Sox

What a journey it has been for Phillips. He was in the White Sox organization to start the season, playing at Triple-A Charlotte. But Chicago released him in May, and when the team’s director of personnel Gene Watson was asked by the Legends if he knew of any potential pitching prospects that needed help, Watson directed them to Phillips.

Thus, Phillips went to Texas and began working on honing his pitching skill.

From there, it was up to the power of social media to take over.

Using his fastball and a good slider, Phillips struck out the first three batters he faced against the Seattle Blackfins, and made an immediate impression. Video of the performance went viral on Twitter/X, and within 12 hours, Phillips had a deal in hand to go pitch in the Yankees’ system.

Phillips said this was not a snap decision.

“This wasn’t something where I got ready in a week for this,” Phillips said, via Kansas.com. “I’ve put in a lot of good work. This has been a thought-out process and something I really want to pursue and I feel like I can still make a difference at the big-league level.”

Yankees Could Always Use Another Bullpen Arm

So, might we see Phillips pushed quickly through the Yankees system and into the bullpen by the time the playoffs come around? It’s a longshot, but Phillips does have two ingredients you’d like to see from a relief pitcher in the postseason—he can throw heat and he won’t be intimidated by the circumstances.

Phillips was part of the Rays’ run to the World Series in 2020, getting three at-bats in seven games—including one that saw him knock a game-winning, walk-off single to beat the Dodgers in Game 4. That’s different than pitching, obviously, but given the wealth of experience he already has, Phillips’ fastball makes him an intriguing late-season possibility.

And he knows he needs to bring the heat.

“If you look at pitchers in professional baseball today, most of them are electric,” Phillips told Kansas.com. “If you’re not throwing from a different angle like myself, who is right over the top, you better have something to feature. (Velocity) definitely in the back of my mind. If you want to pitch in the big leagues, you have to be up there velocity-wise and just go out there and have fun and attack the zone.”