Walding announced his retirement from baseball Friday.
Walding spent most of his career as a corner infielder, but he transitioned to catcher after signing a minor-league deal with the Padres in early March. He appeared in 15 major-league games during his career and went 1-for-19 with a homer, two RBI, two walks and 14 strikeouts.
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Padres' Mitch Walding: Joins Padres as catcher
Rotowire
Walding signed a minor-league deal with the Padres on Tuesday and will convert to catcher, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.
Walding has spent almost the entirety of his professional career at first or third base, with the only exceptions being lone appearances at shortstop and left field. Moving all the way to the most difficult end of the defensive spectrum is quite a rare transition, but the 29-year-old believes it will help extend his career. If the new spot sticks, it will lower the pressure on his bat, though he showed very little there in his very brief major-league stints in 2018 and 2019, going 1-for-19 with 14 strikeouts.
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Angels' Mitch Walding: Signed by Angels
Rotowire
Walding was signed to a minor-league contract by the Angels on Thursday.
Walding last played in the majors in 2019, when he struck out in both of his plate appearances with Philadelphia. He has some pop in his bat but has had contact issues throughout his professional career. Walding will try to make a positive impression on the organization as a member of the Triple-A Salt Lake Bees.
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Phillies' Mitch Walding: Clears waivers
Rotowire
Walding cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Saturday, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.
Walding has just one hit and a whopping 14 strikeouts in 21 career big-league plate appearances. He hasn't shown much promise at the Triple-A level either, posting a .206/.351/.369 slash line with a 38 percent strikeout rate for Lehigh Valley this season.
Phillies' Mitch Walding: Removed from 40-man roster
Rotowire
Walding was designated for assignment by the Phillies on Tuesday, Matt Breen of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
Walding was booted from the 40-man to make room for Blake Parker, who will be available to pitch for Philadelphia on Tuesday. Walding made a brief appearance in the majors this season, though he struck out in both of his at-bats.
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Phillies' Mitch Walding: Sent back to minors
Rotowire
Walding was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Wednesday.
Walding spent four days on the Phillies' 25-man roster and struck out in both of his plate appearances. He's now 1-for-19 with 14 strikeouts in his big-league career. Sean Rodriguez's contract was selected in a corresponding move.
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Phillies' Mitch Walding: Recalled from Triple-A
Rotowire
Walding was recalled by the Phillies on Saturday.
The Phillies lost a pair of shortstops to hamstring strains in Jean Segura and Scott Kingery. Walding will take one of their roster spots but is unlikely to take their playing time, as he's exclusively a corner infielder. He'll likely be nothing more than a bench bat and doesn't project as a particularly good one after striking out in 12 of his 19 plate appearances in his debut last season.
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Phillies' Mitch Walding: Cut from major-league camp
Rotowire
The Phillies optioned Walding to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Friday.
Given that two of his main competitors for reserve gigs with the big club (Scott Kingery and Sean Rodriguez) offer far more defensive versatility, it's not surprising that Walding, a corner infielder, was ultimately cut. Walding will likely play on an everyday basis at Lehigh Valley but should rank near the top of the list for a callup if either Rhys Hoskins or Maikel Franco misses time with an injury at any point.
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Phillies' Mitch Walding: Called up by Phillies
Rotowire
Walding was recalled by the Phillies on Saturday.
Walding has received his first 16 big-league plate appearances this season, but he's struck out 10 times and is still looking for his first career hit, though he hit a solid .265/.390/.474 with Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He's unlikely to be anything other than a bench bat down the stretch.
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Phillies' Mitch Walding: Wins minor-league monthly award
Rotowire
Walding was named the International League Player of the Month on Monday.
Walding earned the honor by hitting .326 with 10 homers and 21 RBI. He's yet to translate any of that success to the major-league level, where he's gone 0-for-14 with 10 strikeouts. The sample size is small, but so far he looks like a Quad-A player, though there remains a chance he could provide value as a bench bat.
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Phillies' Mitch Walding: Shipped to minors
Rotowire
Walding was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley prior to Wednesday's matchup with the Dodgers, Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
Walding is 0-for-10 through 10 games in the major leagues this season after multiple stints with the big club. He'll head to the minors so Philadelphia can make room on the roster for another arm following a 16-inning contest with the Dodgers on Tuesday.
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Phillies' Mitch Walding: Returns to majors
Rotowire
Walding was recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Friday, Meghan Montemurro of The Athletic Philadelphia reports.
Walding has played in six games across multiple stints with the Phillies this season, and is 0-for-8 with seven strikeouts and a walk. The 25-year-old has a .261/.379/.493 slash line for the IronPigs this season, and a troubling 99 strikeouts in 272 at-bats.
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Phillies' Mitch Walding: Heads back to minors
Rotowire
Walding was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Monday.
Walding is hitless in eight at-bats at the big-league level this season, striking out seven times. He's shown a bit of power at the Triple-A level, hitting .259/.381/.467 with nine homers in 61 games, but his 30.1 percent strikeout rate at that level casts doubt on his ability to hit major-league pitching, and he hasn't shown enough pop to overcome such a significant lack of contact.
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Phillies' Mitch Walding: Back with big club
Rotowire
Walding was recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Wednesday.
With J.P. Crawford (hand) hitting the disabled list for the second time this season, Walding will once again rejoin the Phillies to serve as his replacement. The 25-year-old appeared in just three games -- starting one -- and struck out in all six of his plate appearances during his first stint with the big club, so he figures to stick in a reserve role this time around.
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Phillies' Mitch Walding: Returns to minors
Rotowire
Walding was sent back down to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Wednesday, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.
Walding was optioned in a corresponding move to J.P. Crawford's return from the 10-day disabled list (forearm). Over three games with the Phillies, Walding went 0-for-6 with six strikeouts. The 25-year-old has been productive at the Triple-A level this season and will likely continue to remain with the IronPigs barring another injury to a big-league regular in Philadelphia's infield.
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Phillies' Mitch Walding: Heads to big leagues
Rotowire
Walding was called up from Triple-A Lehigh on Wednesday, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.
Walding will get a shot in the major leagues after hitting .271 with seven home runs and 21 RBI through 48 games at Triple-A. The 25-year-old was called up after Pedro Florimon (foot) was placed on the disabled list. He will likely play primarily off the bench.
