By Gabriel Fidler, Managing Editor.
It was quite a summer to remember for Italian baseball, with Samuel Aldegheri making his major league debut and its national squad winning the Under-18 European Championship. On Sept. 17, the Federazione Italiana Baseball Softball (FIBS) reported that the Philadelphia Phillies had signed Filippo Sabatini and Patrick Silva to minor league contracts. In total, five FIBS players are currently under contract with MLB teams, with Williams Wong and San Marino’s Alessandro Ercolani completing the list.
Over the winter, Sabatini’s contract was reported on MLB.com as official on Jan. 15, while Silva’s profile has yet to appear. Both were expected to train at Philadelphia’s Dominican Republic facility in September, with some unofficial winter action in order as well. Claudio Scerrato, Nettuno’s pitching coach and an international scout for the Phillies, posted video of Sabatini’s signing. Aldegheri, who became the first Italian-developed pitcher in the bigs in August, was originally signed by Philadelphia.
Sabatini was a dominant force in the U18 Euros, collecting the Best Pitcher trophy and sending Italy to the championship game with a dominant relief performance against Great Britain. Down 3-0 after only one out in the top of the first, Sabatini tossed six one-run innings, punching out a whopping 11. Italy won on a walk-off in the eighth, before dispatching Germany, 3-1, in the final. In three appearances, the Lazio local struck out 20 in 11 innings with a 0.64 ERA, .222 opponents’ average, and 1.45 WHIP. Sabatini also represented Italy at the 2019 Under-12 Baseball World Cup and the 2021 Under-15 European Baseball Championship.
At 16, Sabatini entered the Nettuno Baseball Academy, appearing that year (2023) for Nettuno ’45 in Italy’s Serie A. He finished with a 5.12 ERA and 1.76 WHIP in 15 games, nine starts, striking out 58 and walking 40 in 51 frames. In 2024, the righty took a leap forward, posting an impressive 66 Ks in 40.1 innings, and cutting down the walks to 18. Batters hit only .152 against him, and he registered a 2.23 ERA and 0.95 WHIP, going 5-1 with two saves.
Silva was an even younger Serie A player in 2024, playing regularly at 3B and 1B, with a start in CF as well. He hit a solid .243/.303/.343 for Settimo, even popping a homer despite checking in at only 15 years old. It was during his performance at the Under-15 World Cup in Colombia last summer that Silva drew the attention of the Phils. Silva was named to the All-World Team after hitting .481/.548/.741 with seven RBI in eight games.
Like Sabatini, Silva already has a long career representing Italy on the international stage. The Piedmont native has appeared as a member of the Azzurri at the U15 European Baseball Championship and the U12 European Baseball Championship.
Thanks to FIBS for its press release [link].