In our first matchup of the “Last Man In” tournament, in which we look at the last free agent signed before the season over the past 16 years, Nick Castellanos breezed past Joe Ross to advance to the next round.
On to our next matchup: Seventh-seeded Luis Garcia vs. tenth-seeded David Lough!
7. Luis Garcia, 2013
Stats with the Phillies: 251 games, 244 innings, 12-14 W-L, 5 saves, 4.12 ERA, 223 K, 125 BB, 2.09 WAR
Originally signed by the Dodgers as an amateur free agent, Garcia was unable to make it to the big leagues and was pitching in independent leagues in 2013. The Phillies signed him as an amateur free agent, and after pitching well in the minors, he was called up to join the Phillies’ bullpen.
Garcia stuck with the Phillies for six seasons. He was fine in middle relief but never earned enough trust to be consistently used in high leverage situations and was eventually traded to the Angels. He’s bounced around the majors since then and pitched for three different teams in 2025.
10. David Lough, 2016
Stats with the Phillies: 30 games, .239/.342/.655, 0 HR, 4 RBI, -0.1 WAR
After a promising rookie season with the Royals in 2013, outfielder David Lough was traded to the Orioles, but was unable to follow up on that showing. He was regarded as a strong defender but couldn’t hit well enough to earn a regular job.
By 2015, he was a free agent, and the talent-deprived Phillies picked him up before the 2016 season. He appeared in 30 games, mostly as a late-game defensive replacement. By August, the Phillies chose to go in a different direction and released him. He bounced around the minor leagues but was never able to make it back to the majors.
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