The Phillies have released outfielder Simón Muzziotti, per Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer on X. The outfielder was outrighted off the Phillies’ roster in February, so this won’t impact the club’s 40-man count.
Muzziotti, now 25, was originally an international signing of the Red Sox out of Venezuela but then Boston was found to have violated international signing rules. As a punishment, the Sox were not allowed to make any international signings in the 2016-17 period and five players they had previously signed were declared free agents, one of whom was Muzziotti.
He then landed a new deal with the Phillies and worked his way up through their system. The Phils placed him on their 40-man roster in November of 2020 to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft but he ended up missing most of 2021 due to visa issues.
In 2022, he was able to make his major league debut, getting into nine games. He hit just .143./.250/.143 in those, but in just nine plate appearances. He spent most of his time in the minors but that season was ended prematurely due to a torn patellar tendon in his right knee.
Due to the pandemic canceling the minor leagues in 2020, Muzziotti’s visa issues in 2021 and injuries in 2022, he was able to play just 66 minor league games in that three-year stretch.
Last year, he stayed healthy enough to get into 124 Triple-A games and hit .296/.358/.404 in those. That translated to a 93 wRC+, indicating he was 7% below league average, but that’s passable production for Muzziotti since he’s been considered a strong defender and a speedster on the bases.
Despite finally having a steady season, the Phillies designated him for assignment in February of this year and the 29 other clubs passed on the chance to grab him off waivers. He didn’t have the right to elect free agency so he stuck with the Phils in a non-roster capacity but his results have tapered off this year. He’s slashed .235/.297/.373 in his 61 Triple-A contests for a wRC+ of 70, prompting the Phils to move on and let him go.
Muzziotti and his representatives will now look for opportunities elsewhere. Though his results have been poor this year, he’s still quite young and provides a decent floor with his speed and defense. Coming into this year, Baseball America still ranked him as the No. 22 prospect in the Phillies’ system.
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