Phils’ prospect Gillies arrested for cocaine possession

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

Gillies, 21, was arrested by Pinellas County Sheriff's Officers at 1:48 a.m. Friday morning, 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.

He was found 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 the following statement:

"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.

A patrol officer witnessed Gillies standing on the shoulder of Route 19 near Enterprise Blvd. 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.

Gillies told the officer he was waving the shirt so his friends could see him. He told the officer he was trying to find a way back to his hotel down the street after spending several hours at Freaki Tiki, a nearby 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 a courtesy ride for Gillies.

After the officer dropped Gillies off at the La Quinta, where he was also staying in June, he noticed a bag of white powder on the back-seat floor of the police cruiser. The officer stopped Gillies, took down his information and told him the bag would be sent to a lab for testing and he could be charged in the future.

The lab results came back positive Thursday and Gillies was taken into custody early Friday morning.

Gillies played two games for double-A Reading in June, but spent the majority 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.

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.