Phillies sign outfielder Jorge Bonifacio to minors deal

The Phillies have signed outfielder Jorge Bonifacio to a minor league contract, as noted by Chris Hilburn-Trenkle of Baseball America. Bonifacio has been assigned to Double-A Reading, where he’s begun his Fightin Phils career 0-1 with a strikeout.

Bonfiacio saw major league action every year from 2017-20. He once looked like a potential long-term piece for the Royals, hitting a decent .255/.320/.432 with 17 home runs as a rookie in 2017. He wound up suspended for almost half the following season after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs, though, and he’s struggled at the plate since returning from that ban. Over the past three seasons, he’s hit just .231/.307/.360 across 385 plate appearances with Kansas City and the Tigers.

The 27-year-old has worked exclusively in the corner outfield in recent seasons. He’s not a potential option for the Phils uncertain center field situation, but he’ll add some experienced depth in the corners. Bonifacio’s assignment to Double-A suggests he might be behind players like Travis Jankowski and Ryan Cordell, both of whom also have MLB experience and are at Triple-A Lehigh Valley, on the depth chart. Still, there’s little harm for the Phillies in adding some experience to the organization, particularly with right fielder Bryce Harper hitting the injured list with a forearm contusion.