Phillies invite six more to Spring Training, including C Joseph

The Phillies have invited six additional players to major league spring training as non-roster invitees.

·         Cody Asche, 3B – In 130 games between single-A Clearwater and double-A Reading last season, Asche batted .324 with 33 doubles, six triples, 12 home runs and 72 RBI.  The 22-year-old led all Phillies minor leaguers in average and hits (168) and was selected to the Florida State League midseason All-Star team.  Following the season, he was named the seventh-best prospect in the Phillies minor league system by Baseball America.  A native of St. Charles, Mo., Asche was a fourth-round selection by Philadelphia in the June 2011 draft.

·         Justin Friend, RHP – Friend, 26, spent the majority of the 2012 season with Reading, where he allowed just one earned run in 39.2 innings (0.23 ERA) while converting each of his 24 save opportunities.  He also made 12 appearances with Lehigh Valley, going 2-1 with one save and a 4.40 ERA in 14.1 innings.  Originally selected by Oakland in the 13th round of the June 2007 draft, Friend was acquired by the Phillies in the minor league portion of the 2010 Rule 5 draft. In 253 minor league games, Friend is 17-22 with 71 saves and a 3.13 ERA.

·         Tommy Joseph, C – Joseph began the 2012 season with double-A Richmond in the San Francisco Giants organization before being acquired by the Phillies in a trade for Hunter Pence on July 31.  The 21-year-old spent the remainder of the season with Reading, where he was selected to the Eastern League Postseason All-Star team.  Overall, Joseph batted .257 with 24 doubles, 11 home runs and 48 RBI in 108 games in 2012.  The Phoenix, Az., native played for Peoria in the Arizona Fall League and was selected to the AFL Rising Stars roster.  Additionally, following the season, he was named the third-best prospect in the Phillies minor league system by Baseball America.

·         Joe Mather, OF – In 103 games with the Chicago Cubs last season, Mather batted .209 with 11 doubles, five home runs and 19 RBI.  The 30-year-old appeared at six different positions in 2012, including pitcher (0.1 IP), first base, third base, left field, center field and right field.  Originally selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the third round of the June 2001 draft, Mather has spent parts of four seasons in the major leagues with the Cardinals (2008, 2010), Atlanta Braves (2011) and Cubs (2012).

·        Adam Morgan, LHP – Morgan, 22, spent the majority of the 2012 season with Clearwater, where he posted a 3.29 ERA in 21 games (20 starts) for the Threshers and was named to the midseason and postseason Florida State League All-Star teams.   He was promoted to Reading in August and went 4-1 with a 3.53 ERA in six starts for the Phillies.  The Tampa, Fla., native led all Phillies minor leaguers with 169 strikeouts in 158.2 innings (9.59 SO/9.0 IP) between both levels.  Following the season, he was named the fifth-best prospect in the Phillies minor league system by Baseball America.   Morgan was originally selected by the Phillies in the third round of the June 2011 draft.

·         Kyle Simon, RHP – Simon, 22, began the 2012 season in the Baltimore Orioles organization, going 2-8 with a 3.96 ERA in 14 starts for single-A Frederick.  He was acquired by the Phillies in a trade for Jim Thome on June 30 and went 4-0 with a 1.36 ERA in 20 relief appearances between Clearwater and Reading.  The Long Beach, Calif., native was originally drafted by the Orioles in the fourth round of the June 2011 draft.

To date, the Phillies have invited a total of 18 players to major league spring training in 2013 as non-roster invitees:

Pitchers (7): RHP Aaron Cook, RHP Juan Cruz, RHP Justin Friend, RHP Rodrigo Lopez, RHP Zach Miner, LHP Adam Morgan, RHP Kyle Simon

Catchers (3): Tommy Joseph, Steven Lerud, Humberto Quintero

Infielders (6): Cody Asche, Andres Blanco, Josh Fields, Cesar Jimenez, Michael Martinez, Pete Orr

Outfielders (2): Joe Mather, Jermaine Mitchell