A 31-year-old minor league free agent has been added by the Braves to provide depth for Gwinnett.
Minor league free agent Phillip Evans has agreed to a non-guaranteed minor league contract with the Atlanta Braves. He’ll be answering to AAA Gwinnett.
Following high school, Evans, 31, was selected by the New York Mets in the 15th round of the 2011 MLB Draft. Before being granted free agency following the 2018 season, he made his Major League Baseball debut in 2017 and played in 34 games over the course of two seasons, batting.241 overall.
He signed with the Pirates and then the Cubs, and he didn’t return to the majors until 2020 when Pittsburgh called him up for 11 games due to injuries, but he made the most of it. Evans, who spent most of his 2020 season at third base but also saw time at first, left, and right field, batted.359/.444/.487 in his brief sample size, earning him a longer run in 2021.
Evans’ 2021 season didn’t exactly go as planned, as he batted just.206/.312/.299 in that season. Sent to the lower levels during the season, he eventually made an impression on the New York Yankees in 2022 and the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2023, but neither organization was able to send him to the major leagues.
With AAA Reno last season, Evans had by far the best season of his career, batting.312/.424/.439 with 37 extra-base hits and 92 walks compared to 75 strikeouts. With a 90th percentile exit velocity of 102.8 mph, Evans demonstrated power that was at least league average, despite Reno and the Pacific Coast League being recognized for having excellent hitter’s parks.
Additionally, he had an excellent contact rate, chasing just 24.3% of pitches (around big league average) and making contact at pitches in the zone over 91% of the time (82.3% overall).
Although Evans hasn’t played shortstop since 2018, he has experience playing all three bases and both corner outfield positions in the major leagues. He has played every position in the minor leagues save centerfield, occasionally even stepping in at catcher.
Evans, who is under contract with AAA Gwinnett, looks to be a high floor utility player who might be called up to fill in for a prolonged absence if his bat performs well in a more typical offensive setting.
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