The Philadelphia Phillies and 31-year-old catcher John Hester agreed to a Minor League deal on Wednesday. Hester was granted costless agency by the Los Angeles Angels on Sept. 30. According to Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com, the deal will include an invite to Spring Training next season.
Hester spent this past season in the Los Angeles Angels organization and batted .261/.338/.411 while hitting six homers and driving in 29 RBI in 273 plate appearances in Triple-A. He has a career slash line of .216/.294/.351 in the Majors and has six homers and 15 RBI in 232 plate appearances in parts of four seasons at the Major Lague level.
Hester was originally drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 33rd round of the 2005 MLB Draft, but he decided not to sign with the club. The following year, the Arizona Diamondbacks drafted him in the 13th round of the 2006 MLB Draft and he signed with the club. He was ranked as the No. 25 prospect in the Diamondbacks' organization by Baseball America following the 2009 season. In 2011, he was traded to the Baltimore Orioles as a player to be named later, completing a 2010 deal in which Diamondbacks traded third baseman Mark Reynolds to the Baltimore Orioles for right-handed pitchers Kam Mickolio and David Hernandez. Hester was released by the Orioles on April 20, 2012 and signed with the Angels just three days later.
Hester made his Major League debut with the Arizona Diamondbacks on Aug. 28, 2009, and hit a pinch-hit two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth inning off of Houston Astros' right-handed pitcher Wilton Lopez in his only plate appearance of the game to give the Diamondbacks a 14-6 lead. He last appeared in the Majors on Sept. 16, 2013, drawing a walk against Oakland Athletics' left-handed pitcher Pedro Figueroa in the top of the eighth inning.