The Phillies re-signed outfielder David Dahl to a minor league deal and assigned him to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, per Matt Gelb of The Athletic (X link). Dahl was designated for assignment by the Phils back on July 9 and rejected an outright assignment in favor of free agency a couple days later.
Dahl, 30, played just four big league games in 2022-23 before resurfacing with the Phils earlier this summer. The former No. 10 overall draft pick and longtime Rockies top prospect signed a minor league deal over the winter and blitzed through Triple-A opposition with a .340/.416/.660 batting line and a dozen homers in 166 trips to the plate prior to his promotion. He homered twice in his first three games back in the big leagues, setting the stage for a potential Cinderella comeback, but Dahl struggled to a .154/.196/.231 slash in 56 plate appearances thereafter.
Back in 2016, Dahl looked to be on the cusp of stardom. He reached the majors in his age-22 season after destroying minor league pitching and hit .315/.359/.500 with seven homers and five steals in his first 237 major league plate appearances. Dahl continued to hit well in subsequent seasons but missed substantial time due to injury as well.
From 2016-19, he turned in a .297/.346/.521 batting line in 921 big league plate appearances but did so while enduring lengthy IL stints owing to back, ankle, foot and ribcage injuries. Add that to a lacerated spleen suffered as a prospect (which resulted in surgery to remove the organ entirely), and Dahl’s injury history quickly became lengthy and alarming.
That series of health maladies took its toll on the talented young outfielder. In 390 plate appearances dating back to 2020, Dahl has authored a tepid .200/.237/.318 slash in the majors. This year’s scintillating output in Lehigh Valley and his fast start following his promotion lend some hope that there’s still some of that 2016-19 form buried away. For now, he’ll head back to the IronPigs and try to force his way back into the Phillies’ major league plans.
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