Former Threshers Walding, Moore Receive Non-Roster Invites

CLEARWATER, Florida - The Philadelphia Phillies have announced their first wave of non-roster invitees to Spring Training, a group which includes a pair of former Clearwater Threshers in third baseman Mitch Walding and catcher Logan Moore. 

The Threshers will be well-represented this spring, as Walding and Moore join a Phillies squad which includes 26 former Clearwater standouts currently on the club's 40-man roster. Pitchers Franklyn Kilomé, José Taveras, Ranger Suárez, and Seranthony Domínguez were all added to the 40-man this offseason, while other recent Threshers Rhys Hoskins, Drew Anderson, Vìctor Arano, Mark Leiter Jr. Jr., JP Crawford, Ricardo Pinto, and Yacksel Ríos all made their Major League debuts with the Phillies in 2017.
Walding, 25, re-signed with the Phillies after becoming a Minor League free agent in September. The former fifth round draft pick out of St. Mary's High School (CA) clubbed 25 home runs last season with the Reading Fightin Phils, ranking fourth in the Eastern League. Walding homered 13 times in the month of June, while batting .337 to earn Player of the Month honors. After missing the majority of August due to an ear fracture, Walding ultimately hit .236, but with a .327 on-base percentage and a career-high .516 slugging while matching a career-best with 62 RBIs.
The third baseman's breakout came in Clearwater in 2016, when Walding won the Florida State League Home Run derby, was named a midseason and post-season All-Star, and hit .280 with 10 homers in 100 games for the Threshers. This will be Walding's first invitation to Major League Spring Training.
Moore, 27, received his third non-roster invite to Spring Training after spending 2017 with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. Highly regarded for his defensive work behind the plate, Moore gunned down 42.2% of would-be base stealers last season, which would have ranked second in the International League had he amassed enough games to qualify. In his seven-year career, Moore has thrown out nearly 36%.
Drafted in the ninth round out of Northeastern Junior College in 2011, Moore played in Clearwater during the 2013 and 2014 seasons, earning FSL All-Star honors in 2013.
Phillies Spring Training kicks off at Spectrum Field on Thursday, February 22 with an exhibition contest against the University of Tampa at 1:05 p.m.