Tyler Spangler will never forget the life-changing day when he signed his first pro baseball contract.
Never mind, then, that LeBron James upstaged him.
In the other big signing in Philadelphia sports Friday, the Phillies agreed to a deal with Spangler, their first pick in the draft two weeks ago. The 18-year-old shortstop received a $3.25 million bonus, a source confirmed, $491,200 more than the MLB-listed slot value for the No. 36 overall pick and 42% of the Phillies’ $7.773 million bonus allotment.
Spangler will report to the Phillies’ training facility in Clearwater, Fla., within the next few days to begin the yearslong climb to the majors. First, the team invited him and his family to watch batting practice on the field, tour the clubhouse, and meet several players.
And wherever they went around town, Spangler said folks were buzzing over the Sixers and their new megastar.
“It was nice of LeBron to follow him,” agent Scott Boras said jokingly.
Seriously, though, there were draft-day questions about Spangler, notably his health. He didn’t play this year as a senior at De La Salle High School in Northern California because of a back injury, which hit home because of a back condition that has prevented Phillies top prospect Aidan Miller from playing this season.
Neither Spangler nor Boras divulged specifics about the back injury. Spangler called it “a little problem” and said it “wasn’t bad.” Boras said he advised Spangler to “conservatively manage a very minor back issue” to focus on making sure he was ready for the draft, not the high school season.
“The [medical] advice was basically, ‘It’s not a serious issue, but you know what, let’s treat this conservatively,’” Boras said. “The key thing is to get core strength with young players, getting core strength and leg strength underneath them so that nothing like this occurs any further.
“It was really a decision medically on the basis of saying, ‘Let’s resolve this.’ He could probably have played with it, but let’s resolve it and focus toward what we’re going to do in the future.”
Like most teams, the Phillies scouted Spangler in his junior year and in tournaments leading up to his senior season. He was cleared to participate in MLB’s scouting combine in June in Phoenix. The Phillies watched him there and again a week later in a workout at his high school.
As he heads to Florida, Spangler said he doesn’t have physical limitations, especially after testing his back at the combine.
“It was super important,” Spangler said. “Going out there and taking BP in a big league stadium for the first time in a while, it was surreal. It was awesome. I was just super happy that I went out there and felt great and no issues. I just felt healthy and ready to go.”
If not for the injury, Spangler may not have been available when the Phillies made the 36th pick. And by signing him for more than the slot value, they pried him away from a college commitment to Stanford.
Spangler has drawn parallels to five-time All-Star shortstop Corey Seager because of his size (6-foot-3) and aptitude as a left-handed hitter. He doesn’t mind the pressure that comes with such a lofty comparison.
“I mean, definitely, Seager’s a good one,” Spangler said. “Bigger shortstop, left-handed hitter. I love the way he plays. I always watched Barry Bonds, too, just the way he swings it. I feel like I model my game after those two guys.”
Spangler will join the rest of the Phillies’ draft class in Clearwater. All but one pick, 19th-round catcher Braeden Lipoff of Gloucester Catholic, have signed. Lipoff has a college commitment to East Carolina.
The Phillies hope Spangler will play in games before the end of the minor league season.
Meanwhile, as Spangler tried out Philly cuisine (he said he went to Angelo’s Pizzeria and sampled cheesesteaks, of course), his friends from back home in California texted him about that other athlete who just signed with a Philadelphia team.
“Oh yeah, I was happy,” Spangler said of the James news. “But I’m from the Bay Area, so, you know, the Warriors were another option, right? And I’ve been a Warriors fan for my whole life. All my friends are giving me a hard time back home that he’s coming here. But either way, now it’s good with me.”
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