Sep 22, 2020; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Twins relief pitcher Cody Stashak (61) delivers a pitch in the fourth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports Jesse Johnson
The Phillies have made their first signing of the offseason.
According to Matt Gelb of The Athletic, the Phillies signed right-handed reliever Cody Stashak to a minor-league contract. Of Stashak, Gelb writes "the Phillies will take a look in spring," which implies that his deal includes an invite to MLB Spring Training.
The Phillies have signed SJ native Cody Stashak to a minor league deal, per @MattGelb.
Stashak hasn’t pitched in the Majors since 2022, but he’s reportedly added some strikeout stuff. He’s thrown his slider nearly 50% of the time in his career.
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Stashak, 30, is from Somers Point, New Jersey. He's a graduate of Oakcrest High School, and played collegiately at St. John's University before being selected by the Minnesota Twins in the 13th round of the 2015 MLB Draft.
Across 55 career MLB appearances with the Twins, Stashak posted a 4.13 ERA and 2.98 FIP. 54 of his 55 appearances — which came from 2019-2022 — were out of the bullpen.
Stashak has spent the last two seasons with the Sacramento River Cats, the Triple-A affiliates of the San Francisco Giants. The results have not been particularly impressive, as Stashak posted a 5.45 ERA over 27 games at Triple-A this past season.
At the same time, the recent statistics of players who are available to be signed to minor-league deals with invites to big league Spring Training aren't usually impressive. The Phillies have struck gold on similar deals with Jeff Hoffman and José Ruiz in recent seasons.
Will Stashak be the next Hoffman or Ruiz? Who knows. But part of building strong organizational pitching depth is taking fliers on this type of arm, hoping you can tap into something that prior employers haven't been able to.
