Matt Tolbert played in the majors in four straight seasons with the Minnesota Twins (2008-2011), but spent last season at Triple-A Iowa after signing with the Cubs as a free agent in January of 2012.
Now, the utility infielder, who has also played in the outfield in the minors, has signed a minor league deal with the Phillies. The deal does not include an invitation to spring training, so Tolbert is most likely to start the season at Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
In his time in the majors, Tolbert has a career line of 3-54-.230/.288/.319 in 247 games with the Twins. Last season at Iowa, Tolbert hit .240 in 113 games.
In addition to Tolbert, Lehigh Valley is likely to have Andres Blanco, Yuniesky Betancourt, Michael Martinez and Pete Orr available for their middle infield positions. All of those players have major league experience.
Matt Tolbert's career stats
| Year |
Team |
G |
AB |
R |
H |
2B |
3B |
HR |
RBI |
SB |
CS |
BB |
SO |
BA |
OBP |
SLG |
| 2008 |
Minnesota |
41 |
113 |
18 |
32 |
6 |
3 |
0 |
6 |
7 |
1 |
7 |
19 |
.283 |
.322 |
.389 |
| 2009 |
Minnesota |
71 |
198 |
28 |
46 |
7 |
1 |
2 |
19 |
6 |
2 |
21 |
37 |
.232 |
.303 |
.308 |
| 2010 |
Minnesota |
48 |
87 |
8 |
20 |
4 |
3 |
1 |
18 |
1 |
1 |
9 |
18 |
.230 |
.293 |
.379 |
| 2011 |
Minnesota |
87 |
207 |
22 |
41 |
10 |
2 |
0 |
11 |
3 |
2 |
11 |
31 |
.198 |
.252 |
.266 |
| 4
Years |
247 |
605 |
76 |
139 |
27 |
9 |
3 |
54 |
17 |
6 |
48 |
105 |
.230 |
.288 |
.319 |