Portland native Ryan Flaherty has signed a minor league contract with the Philadelphia Phillies, according to a report from espn.com

The signing ends Flaherty’s six-year relationship with the Baltimore Orioles. Flaherty became a free agent this offseason, and like more than 100 free agents, he has been waiting to sign. This was Flaherty’s first time as a free agent.

“I really didn’t know what to expect,” Flaherty said during an interview last month.

Flaherty, 31, will report to the Phillies’ spring training camp in Clearwater, Florida, and will vie for a major league job. Among those he will compete with for a utility position are journeyman Adam Rosales, 34, and another veteran, Pedro Floriman, 31. Rosales is listed as a shortstop and Floriman as an outfielder but, like Flaherty, they can play multiple positions.

Among the other nonroster players invited to the Phillies’ major league camp are former Sea Dogs and Red Sox third baseman Will Middlebrooks and former Sea Dogs infielder Heiker Meneses.

Flaherty, the son of University of Southern Maine baseball Coach Ed Flaherty, is a graduate of Deering High and played college ball at Vanderbilt. He was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the first round of the 2008 draft.

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When Theo Epstein took over as Cubs general manager in 2011, he did not put Flaherty on the 40-man roster, leaving him unprotected for the Rule 5 draft. The Orioles drafted Flaherty, and he was on Baltimore’s roster for six seasons despite a career .215 average, as Manager Buck Showalter valued his versatility. He has played every position except catcher and center field.

Flaherty was slowed by a shoulder injury in 2017 and played only 23 games. He made a couple rehab appearances at Hadlock Field when the Orioles’ Double-A team played the Sea Dogs.

Flaherty shined when he played against the Red Sox at Fenway Park, with a career .308 average there. The Phillies play in Boston this season, July 30-31.

Flaherty’s signing was first reported by ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick, a Portland High alumnus.

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Wilson, 29, hit .229 in two seasons in the low minor leagues in Colorado’s system in 2010-11. He was selected by the Rangers in the Triple-A portion of the Rule 5 draft in December 2013,

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Former Yankees manager Joe Girardi is joining the MLB Network as a studio analyst.

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Sanchez set career bests last year with a .267 average, 12 homers, 59 RBI and a .319 on-base percentage.


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