Phils prospect Gillies faces cocaine charge

Phillies prospect Tyson Gillies, one of the three players acquired in the Cliff Lee trade this past off-season, was arrested early Friday for cocaine possession stemming from a June incident in Clearwater, Fla.

Gillies, 21, was arrested by Pinellas County Sheriff's Officers at 1:48 a.m. Friday, according to a spokeswoman. The possession charge is a felony.

Gillies was released from jail at 10:52 a.m. on a $2,000 cash bond. No initial court appearance has been scheduled.

He was apprehended by police at the La Quinta Inn on Route 19 in Clearwater, less than a mile from the Phillies' spring-training complex.

The team issued only a statement Friday:

"The Phillies have confirmed that Tyson Gillies was charged today on a drug possession charge arising out of an incident that was alleged to have occurred in June. Because this is an open case, we will not comment further at this time."

Cecilia Barreda, the public information officer for the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, said the original incident occurred June 11 in Clearwater.

That morning, a patrol officer witnessed Gillies standing on the shoulder of Route 19 near Enterprise Boulevard in Clearwater at 3:24 a.m. Gillies was waving a white shirt at passing motorists. The patrol officer stopped to speak with Gillies and noticed he was intoxicated, Barreda said.

Gillies told the officer he was waving the shirt so his friends could see him. He said he was trying to find a way back to his hotel after spending several hours at the nearby Freaki Tiki Bar.

The officer asked Gillies if he had enough money for a taxi to take him back to the hotel. He did not, so the officer offered Gillies a courtesy ride.

After the officer dropped Gillies off at the La Quinta, where he was also staying in June, he spotted a bag of a white powdery substance on the backseat floor of the police cruiser where Gillies had sat, Barreda said. The officer stopped Gillies, took down his information, and told him that the bag would be sent to a lab for testing and that he could be charged in the future.

The lab results came back positive for cocaine Thursday, and Gillies was taken into custody Friday morning. The amount of cocaine in the bag was not disclosed.

Gillies played two games for double-A Reading in June, but spent most of his time working out at the Phillies' complex in Clearwater while attempting to rehab a sore left hamstring that has slowed him all season.

This past week, Gillies saw his first game action since June. The Vancouver native played three games for the Gulf Coast League Phillies.

On Wednesday, Gillies told his hometown newspaper, The Kamloops Daily News, that he was "finally figuring out the little things coaches have been trying to explain, things you have to struggle with and feel for yourself."

But after three games in the Gulf Coast League, he was shut down again because of the bothersome hamstring. He told the paper he could be headed for a visit with renowned orthopedist James Andrews for an examination.

Chuck LaMar, the Phillies' assistant general manager in charge of player development, conceded that Gillies' hamstring is a concern, but said MRI examinations have not revealed a major problem.

"It has been a problem all year," LaMar said. "We have given him several MRIs, and they have not shown any significant damage. There is a little swelling and inflammation, but overall, the MRI is very encouraging. It is a Grade 1 slight strain. We'll let the doctors continue to look at it and continue to pursue what might be causing this sensation."

LaMar said team physician Michael Ciccotti recently reviewed Gillies' MRI results. LaMar said Gillies did well in strength tests, sprint work, and running the bases before he started playing in the Gulf Coast League earlier in the week.

"Then when he started playing in the games, he said it just didn't feel right," LaMar said. "He said it doesn't feel like it was pulled or strained. It just didn't feel right.

"With the Florida Instructional League coming up, and he has a chance to play for the Canadian national team and in the Arizona Fall League, so we wanted to shut him down and make sure he is 100 percent healthy."

Gillies hit .229 with two home runs and six RBIs in 26 games for Reading this season. Along with pitchers Phillippe Aumont and J.C. Ramirez, Gillies was acquired by the Phillies on Dec. 16, 2009, from Seattle for Lee.

The outfielder was born with hearing impairments in both ears and is legally deaf.

The Phillies' decision to trade Cliff Lee to the Seattle Mariners for three minor-leaguers the same December day they acquired Roy Halladay from Toronto has been widely unpopular from the beginning. It did not help when the news broke Friday that outfielder Tyson Gillies, who has missed most of the season because of a hamstring injury, had been arrested and charged with cocaine possession in Clearwater, Fla.

Here's a look at the minor-league statistics of the three players the Phillies acquired for Lee, who is now pitching in Texas. The bottom team is the player's current team.

Player   Pos.   Teams   Statistics   

Tyson Gillies   OF   Reading   .238, 2 HRs, 6 RBIs, 26 Gs

Gulf Coast   1 for 2, RBI, 2 Gs

Phillippe Aumont   P   Reading   1-6, 7.43 ERA, 11 starts

Clearwater   2-3, 4.18 ERA, 13 Gs

J.C. Ramirez   P   Clearwater   4-3, 4.06 ERA, 11 starts

Reading   3-3, 5.18 ERA, 12 starts

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