Former Cardinal Justin Williams Signs With Phillies
According to the Philadelphia Phillies transaction log on MLB.com, the team has signed former St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Justin Williams to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training.
Williams was acquired by the Cardinals on July 31,2018 from the Tampa Bay Rays, along with pitchers Genesis Cabrera and Roel Ramirez for Tommy Pham. He was then optioned to the minor leagues.
In 2019, between Springfield & Memphis, Williams slashed .296/.372/.484 with 8 HR & 29 RBI. There was no minor league baseball in 2020 due to pandemic, and in his 29 games in the minors last season, Justin batted .248/.282/.486 with 6 HR & 22 RBI.
He got his first real taste of the majors in 2021 for St. Louis, to fill in for an injured Harrison Bader. In 51 games (137 plate appearances), Williams struggled to a tune of a .160/.270/.261 slashline with 4 HR, 19 hits, 17 walks and 46 strikeouts. That’s striking out in 1/3 of his plate appearances.
Defensively he played both corner outfield positions in 2021, where he had 2 errors in 294.1 innings (.970 fielding %) and posted average marks of (+1 DRZ, - 0.5 UZR, -1 OAA).
He spent time on the IL last season and was then optioned to Memphis once activated where he spent the remainder of the year. On November 5th, 2021, the St. Louis Cardinals removed Williams from their 40-man roster and he elected free agency four days later on November 9th.