According to Todd Zolecki of MLB.com, the Phillies and Jim Thome have agreed on a one-year contract.
Terms of the deal are not yet known, but Zolecki suspects it's likely a low-risk and cheap contract. Thome, who turned 41 in August, batted .256/.361/.477 with 15 homers and 50 RBI over 324 plate appearances between the Twins and Indians this season. It's not a surprising destination for Thome, who once played for the Phillies and has a strong relationship with manager Charlie Manuel. He will function as a lefty bat off the bench as he looks for his first World Series ring.
While the author might not think it's surprising, I sure as hell do! I didn't think a NL team would even be an option at this point in his career. Ryan Howard is likely to miss the first month or so of the season so it will be interesting to see if they stick Thome out there. That park was basically built for him so a return seems pretty cool to me but it is still a shocker. The deal is worth $1.25 million. He's still no Matt Stairs