Sources told MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki that the Phillies and free agent Ross Gload have come to terms on a two-year deal.
The 33-year-old Gload was believed to have similar offers on the table from the Marlins and Braves.
Gload hit .261/.329/.400 with 30 RBI in 230 at-bats for Florida last season. He was terribly miscast as a regular by the Royals, but he has been excellent off the bench in his career. Overall, he’s hit .308/.366/.436 with 29 RBI in 156 at-bats as a pinch-hitter. He came in at .318/.418/.455 with 15 RBI in 66 at-bats last season.
Gload, who will be the replacement for Matt Stairs, seemingly completes a Philadelphia bench also set to include Ben Francisco, Greg Dobbs, Brian Schneider and Juan Castro.
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- Old Gator - Dec 9, 2009 at 3:02 PM
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How can you blame Gload? He had similar offers from a team that means to compete and stay on top, and from a team – his prior one – that means primarily to keep that luxury tax money clanging into Jeffrey Loria’s Scrooge McDuck money bin instead. It’s true that the Marlins are just a “small market” team – but a sizable percentage of its “smallness” is directly attributable to the exodus of Feesh fans who are sick and tired of watching their team treat quality talent – even reasonably priced talent – the way an anorexic treats the buffet at Caesar’s Palace.
