The Philadelphia Phillies have added a slugging first baseman to the organizational depth.
Philadelphia has one of the top offenses in baseball, but the Phillies need more from the depth players besides the likes of Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, and Brandon Marsh.
So, with the Phillies looking to add a spark, Philadelphia acquired slugging first baseman Brandon Lewis from the York Revolution of the Atlantic League, according to the MLB transactions log.
Lewis played in AA for the Tulsa Drillers – the affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers – from 2022 until 2024. Yet, after being released, he signed with the Generales de Durango of the Mexican League before playing in Independent Ball.
In 2024, he hit .208 with 9 home runs and 39 RBIs in 73 games. His best season came in 2021 between A and High-A, hitting .269 with 30 home runs and 86 RBIS. With the York Revolution, Lewis hit .347 with 19 home runs and 59 RBIs. That led to the Phillies acquiring him.
After the Phillies acquired the 27-year-old first baseman, he was assigned to the Jersey Shore Blueclaws of High-A.
Lewis was selected in the fourth round of the 219 MLB Draft out of UC Irvine by the Dodgers.
York Revolution Pleased Lewis is Joining the Phillies
After the trade was announced, the York Revolution issued a press release and was excited that Lewis is back in affiliated ball.
“It’s great news for him,” said Revs manager Rick Forney. “He was on pace for a historic season. He worked hard in the offseason and got himself in better shape. That was obvious when he arrived in camp. He had an unbelievable start and is very deserving of this second chance with a big league organization.”
Before being called up to the affiliated ball, Lewis led the league in home runs (19), RBIs (59), slugging (.776), runs (47), total bases (132), and extra-base hits (33). He ranked second in OPS (1.186), third in batting (.347), and T-4th in total hits (59), so the call-up to affiliated ball was well-deserved.
Lewis becomes the record-tying sixth member of this year’s Revolution squad to have his contract purchased by a Major League organization, the team announced.
Phillies Lose Garcia for Season
The Phillies acquiring Lewis comes after the team lost Adolis Garcia for the rest of the season.
Philadelphia announced Garcia will undergo right latissimus dorsi repair surgery next week, which will end his season.
At the time of the injury, Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly admitted he was hopeful that it wouldn’t be long-term.
“They kind of know when they’ve done something,” Mattingly said. “We’ll probably get some imaging [Thursday] and find out the true severity of it. Hope for the best.”
The Phillies signed Garcia to a one-year, $10 million deal this offseason as he was expected to be a key part of the offense. With Garcia out, Mattingly knows others need to step up.
“Everybody deals with stuff all the time, so someone is going to have to pick it up,” he said.
Garcia hit .195 with 7 home runs and 21 RBIs this season before the injury.
As for the Phillies, Philadelphia is 40-34 and holding onto a Wild Card spot.
Phillies Acquire Ex-30 Home Run Slugging First Baseman