The Phillies have signed outfielder Pedro León to a minor league contract, as reported by MLB.com’s transaction tracker. He will return to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, though he is no longer on the 40-man roster.
Philadelphia released León on Saturday after selecting infielder Felix Reyes to the major league roster. León had been placed on the minor league injured list a couple of weeks earlier due to a right hamstring strain. Since injured players cannot be placed on outright waivers, the Phillies released him to remove him from the roster.
The length of León’s absence is uncertain. The Phillies clearly still view him as useful depth, but they were willing to risk losing him to another team in order to clear a 40-man spot. Philadelphia had claimed León off waivers from Baltimore early in the offseason. He is batting .283 this season but has struck out 19 times in his first 53 plate appearances with Lehigh Valley.
Over just over 400 Triple-A games, León has slashed .253/.354/.443. His only MLB action came in seven games with the Astros two years ago. Once regarded as a highly touted amateur signing out of Cuba due to his blend of power and speed, his stock has been diminished by strikeout problems, making him a roughly average Triple-A hitter.
