The Phillies announced that outfielder David Dahl has cleared waivers and elected free agency. He was designated for assignment earlier this week. Players with a previous career outright or three years of service time can reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency, with Dahl qualifying on both counts.
Dahl, 30, was able to manufacture a feel-good comeback story a few weeks ago, but it eventually ran out of steam. The veteran was mostly hurt for the 2020-23 but looked great after signing a minor league deal with the Phils in the winter. He got into 43 Triple-A games and ripped 12 home runs in that time while also drawing walks at an 11.4 percent clip. He slashed .340/.416/.660 during his 166 plate appearances as an IronPig.
That got him called to the majors as the Phillies put Brandon Marsh on the injured list. It seemed for a moment that Dahl could keep the good times rolling, hitting two homers in his first three games with the Phils. But he hit a wall after that with a .154/.196/.231 line in his next 56 plate appearances, getting bumped off the roster when Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper returned from IL stints.
Dahl will now look for his next opportunity elsewhere, though the fact that all clubs passed on the opportunity to grab him off waivers suggests he’ll likely have to settle for another minor league deal. Some teams may be intrigued by his blistering start in Triple-A this year and his past record. He hit .297/.346/.521 in 240 games with the Rockies from 2016 to 2019 but, as mentioned, has been hamstrung by injuries since then.
He has suffered a lacerated spleen that led to the organ needing to be removed entirely, as well as a stress fracture in his ribcage, a broken foot, a high ankle sprain, a shoulder strain, multiple back injuries and a quad strain. He has hit .200/.237/.318 in his 390 major league plate appearances since the end of 2019, split between the Rangers, Padres and Phillies.
Dahl passed five years of service this year but won’t reach the six-year mark. If he hits somewhere and gets back on a roster, he could be retained via arbitration for 2025. With the trade deadline now less than three weeks away, perhaps some upcoming roster shuffling will open a nice opportunity for him somewhere.
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