Delmon Young Receives Release from Philadelphia Phillies

Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

An uninspiring experiment has come to an end in Philadelphia, as the Phillies have finally parted ways with Delmon Young. The team has announced that they’ve released Young after he refused an assignment to Triple-A. The right fielder had been designated for assignment by the team last week following their waiver wire claim of Casper Wells.

Philadelphia signed Young to a one year deal this past offseason, worth $750,000 but contained numerous bonuses tied into Young’s weight and the amount of playing time he’d receive. On paper it’d appear to be a low risk move by the team, unless that paper is the lengthy list of his on and off field transgressions. Young carries as much baggage as he does potential, so the Phillies were treading into territory that much of their fan base disapproved of. The promise of some home run production was a positive, but the defensive deficiencies and inconsistent approach at the plate far outweighed them.

Young hit .261/.302/.397 in 291 PA, but struck out 69 times (27.3% of his plate appearances) and managed just 21 extra base hits (13 2B, 8 HR). It’s been arguably one of the worst offensive seasons of his career and Young won’t even turn 28 until mid-September.

With about six weeks to go on the season and sitting almost 20 games behind the Atlanta Braves, it’s time for the Phillies to see what pieces they have for their 2014 lineup and beyond. Young was never truly expected to be a part of that mix, leaving no reason to continue giving him playing time ahead of others. If you look through the collection of Tweets assembled by Justin Klugh at That Ball’s Outta Here, there doesn’t seem to be many Phillies fans that object with the move.