Harper on Astros: 'You never want to see it'

Segura arrives at camp; Phils trade for versatile Garlick

February 16th, 2020

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- is one of baseball's biggest stars. His words resonate.

Many players have spoken out about the Astros players involved in Houston's illegal sign-stealing scheme in 2017, and Harper offered his two cents about the situation.

“You never want to see it,” Harper said Sunday morning at Spectrum Field. “It’s very tough to see that. But I think for me, it’s more the guys coming up for the first time and they’re in the back end of the bullpen and they know it and they get hit or shelled and they’re never coming to the big leagues again because a team had their signs and everything like that. It’s those guys that I feel bad for.

“Of course, the guys like [right-hander David] Robertson getting shelled in Houston in 2017, that’s tough as well. World Series or not … and then guys like Aaron Judge going through in 2017 and absolutely killing it that year and gets beat out [for the American League Most Valuable Player Award] by a great player in [José] Altuve. It’s just guys like that who really miss out on things or a guy who comes up for his first start and they have his signs and he gets absolutely shelled for seven or eight and they send him back down and he never comes back to the big leagues. Those are the guys I feel for.”

The gang's all here
The Phillies’ first full-squad workout is Monday. Manager Joe Girardi said that everybody has reported to camp, other than recently acquired outfielder . The list of arrivals includes Harper and infielder Jean Segura, who both showed up on Sunday.

Segura’s arrival has been anticipated, because he is expected to compete with Scott Kingery to play second or third base.

How’s it going to work with Segura, anyway?

“It’ll just be trial and error,” Girardi said. “We're going to work him and Scott at both places. There is not an exact plan, because his feedback is important to us, and what we see. I can't tell you exactly what's going to happen when I see him at second or when I see him at third. We have a better idea at second than we do third, but we have to see it. We have to get our eyes on it.”

Strong Garlick
The Phillies traded left-hander Tyler Gilbert to the Dodgers for Garlick on Saturday. Garlick, 28, batted .250 with three home runs, six RBIs and an .842 OPS in 53 plate appearances last season with the Dodgers. He plays left field and right field, and he could also compete for a bench job.

“It's a power bat, is what it is,” Girardi said. “Kyle has hit a number of home runs. What did he have, three home runs last year in 48 at-bats? It's a kid who has power. It's interesting.”