PHILLIES PROSPECT ARRESTED IN COCAINE BUST

Tyson Gillies, one of three prospects acquired from the Phillies in
the Cliff Lee trade last offseason, was arrested in Clearwater early
this morning and charged with felony cocaine possession, the Pinellas
County Sheriff Department confirmed. Bond was posted and he was released.

Assistant general manager, player development and scouting Chuck LaMar
read a statement on the team's behalf.

"We are aware that Tyson Gillies was arrested today on a drug
possession charge arising out of out of an incident that is alleged to
have occurred this past June," he said. "Because this is an open
criminal case, we will not comment further at this time."

According to the St. Petersburg Times, which first reported the story,
the 21-year-old outfielder was arrested at 1:10 a.m. and released at
10:52 p..m. on $2,000 bond.

He's been batting .238 while playing only 26 games for Double-A
Reading. Bothered much of the year with a hamstring injury, he was in
Florida on a rehab assignment in June and was back in Clearwater on a
separate rehab assignment when the arrest occurred. He played two
games for the Gulf Coast League Phillies last week.

Gillies, along with righthanders Phillippe Aumont and J.C. Ramirez,
was acquired from the Seattle Mariners in the controversial trade that
sent Lee to Seattle last December.

He batted .341 with 44 stolen bases for Class A High Desert in 2009.
At the time of the deal, most of the stories centered on the human
interest angle that Gillies was succeeding in baseball despite being
legally deaf.