Adelaide Giants acquire seven Philadelphia Phillies players for ABL season 2023
Adelaide’s top baseball side will play host to seven players from an MLB World Series club as it attempts to boost the game in the state and achieve the ultimate success this season.
Local Sport
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Seven players from a USA World Series club will pull on the blue and red for South Australia’s top baseball club in season 2022-2023.
Philadelphia Phillies Minor League players Anthony Quirion, Arturo De Freitas, Jared Carr, Jordan Fowler, Nikau Pouka-Grego, Rixon Wingrove and Starlyn Castillo will join the Adelaide Giants for the Australian Baseball League season in a move which has further opened the door to a relationship between SA and America’s best clubs.
The moves mark the continuation of a strong relationship between the Giants and the Phillies – who are currently up against Houston in the MLB World Series – and will prove to be a significant boost for the SA club as it returns to competition after the 2021-22 campaign was cancelled due to Covid.
Coach Chris Adamson – who also coaches in the Phillies system – said the move would have a big impact for the Giants.
“It’s huge for us and definitely something which will continue to benefit both parties,” Adamson said.
“The Phillies guys play a range of roles from pitchers to fielders and hitters, so it’s going to help us substantially with our depth and they’re not only going to benefit on the baseball side of things but from a life experience standpoint as well.”
While Rixon Wingrove is an Australian who is accustomed to the ABL schedule, Adamson said the other imports would develop through different weekly demands.
He also believed the rest of the Giants squad would learn valuable lessons from the arrivals.
“They’d usually play almost every day in the US whereas they’ll play three or four days a week here which gives us some extra space to help them with their specific goals, whether it be bat speed, pitching, whatever, we can dedicate time to that.
“For our other guys too, I don’t think it’s spoken about enough just how much will rub off on them.
“They’ll see what it looks like to prepare daily and what it takes to stay on the field and continue to develop.
“This is our third or fourth year being able to call on guys from the Phillies so we’re really grateful the club is trusting us with their players and allowing us to continue their development.”
Adelaide is yet to win an ABL title despite making the championship series on four occasions.
The club hopes it will launch a strong campaign in 2022-2023, bolstered by the imports.
“We’ve got some much needed experience now and we’re blending it with a lot of promising youth,” Adamson said.
“The ultimate goal every year is to win a championship and I think if we can make sure we’re taking care of business on and off the field we’ll have a big chance.”
The Giants will begin their ABL season on November 11 when they take on the Perth Heat.
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