Christian

Cairo

Cairo, 24, apparently got an offer to join another team with his upward mobility clause, but the Phillies trumped that by placing him on the 40-man here, even though they immediately sent him down. Cairo spent seven years in the Guardians system before signing a minor league deal with the Phillies in the offseason. He hit just .194/.293/.278 in camp, but he does offer value with his glove.

The Phillies have one of the deepest and most talented bullpens in all of baseball, so it was always going to be tough for Shugart to crack the Opening Day roster. De La Cruz’s chances of earning a spot took a big hit when the Phillies announced that Justin Crawford had made the team. Both players will start out the year as extra depth at the Triple-A level.

Miguel’s son, Christian, was picked up by Atlanta earlier in the offseason as a Rule 5 selection and didn’t end up making the club’s season-opening roster as a reserve infielder. The 23-year-old heads back to Cleveland where he’ll open the year in the upper minors.

This simply comes down to the fact that Williams has no options remaining and would need to be subject to waivers if the Braves don’t want to carry him on the roster. While they might decide to take that risk, Williams can play almost every position on the field, which makes him an incredibly valuable bench option to have. That could mean bad news for the hopes of players like Christian Cairo, Eddy Alvarez, and Nacho Alvarez Jr. to make the team out of camp.

Cairo is considered a quality defensive shortstop who hit just .240 at the Double- and Triple-A levels, but he did get on at a .354 clip while stealing 30 bases. He’ll get a chance to earn the backup middle-infield job with a good showing in spring training.