The Phillies announced today that they have signed catcher J.P. Arencibia to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training.
Arencibia, best known for his time with the Blue Jays, failed to make the Orioles out of spring training last year and latched on with the Rays in April. He spent most of the season at the Triple-A level, but was called up in late August and finished strong by batting .310 with six home runs and a .921 OPS over 24 games. Of course, he also had a 22/1 K/BB ratio, so we shouldn’t make too much out of the small sample size. While Arencibia has pop, he has hit just .212 with a .258 on-base percentage for his career. The Rays apparently weren’t believers in the late-season surge, as they designated him for assignment last month.
The Phillies already have Carlos Ruiz and Cameron Rupp in-house, but Arencibia will try to battle for a backup job during spring training.
