David

Dahl

The Phillies designated Dahl for assignment earlier in July and now they can stash him at Triple-A for depth without him taking up a spot on the 40-man roster. Dahl hit .207 with three home runs and eight RBI in 19 games with the Phillies this year.

Dahl declined the move and became a free agent. Dahl was making barely more than the minimum for the Phillies, so if anyone wanted him as a major league outfielder right now, they likely would have just claimed him off waivers. Since that didn’t happen, he’ll probably wind up taking a minor league deal elsewhere.

Dahl was given a chance while Kyle Schwarber (groin) was on the injured list, but Schwarber was reinstated from that list Tuesday, and Dahl hit just .207 with a .638 OPS. There could be interest on the waiver wire in his services, but he’ll have the option of either reporting to Triple-A or electing free agency if he doesn’t get traded or claimed.

Dahl broke a 1-0 game open in the sixth after an odd balk from Justin Martinez advanced an additional runner into scoring position. Dahl also homered as a pinch-hitter in Saturday’s rout. Prior to that, he’d been in a 2-for-28 rut after a strong first three games with the Phillies. He’ll continue to start in left field against righties for now.

Rojas is probably still the Phillies’ best center field option in spite of his .566 OPS, but it’d be nice if he were better and playing in Triple-A — something he’s actually never done before — might allow him to work on his approach in a way he couldn’t at the major league level. This also allows the Phillies to retain David Dahl, Cristian Pache and Whit Merrifield, none of whom can be optioned. Dahl will likely play left field against righties, with Brandon Marsh moving back to center.

Dahl made an immediate impact in his Phillies debut, taking Brewers reliever Bryse Wilson deep in the fourth inning to give Philadelphia a commanding three-run advantage that they wouldn’t relinquish. The 30-year-old former top prospect has bounced around the last couple seasons, but still represents a quality emergency stopgap option at the highest level, even if he’s never quite been able to carve out a permanent role.

The 30-year-old former top prospect had been swinging a hot bat at Triple-A Lehigh Valley — slashing a robust .340/.416/.660 with 12 homers, 26 RBI, two stolen bases and a 35/19 K/BB ratio over 166 plate appearances. Is it possible that he has finally put all of the tools together and will have a career resurgence? If he gets full-time at-bats against right-handed pitching in the Brandon Marsh (hamstring) role, it’s probably worth finding out in deeper mixed leagues and NL-only formats. He’ll start in left field and bat seventh for the Phillies against Bryse Wilson and the Brewers on Monday night.

Kingery, Dahl and Stevenson were never expected to make the Phillies’ Opening Day roster and will likely stick around at Triple-A Lehigh Valley as extra organizational depth.

Dahl got into four games with the Padres last year, with his lone hit being a homer. He hit .278/.351/.466 in 71 games in Triple-A. He probably won’t be much of a threat to make the Phillies out of spring training.

Dahl got into only four games earlier this season for the Padres and will join up with the division-rival Dodgers as extra organizational depth. The 29-year-old outfielder might have something left in the tank and could get a look in Los Angeles at some point later this season.