MT grad Gallagher gets deal with Phils

Gallagher, who was released by the Los Angeles Dodgers organization after testing positive for the banned substance methylhexaneamine, will report to the Phillies' spring training base in Clearwater, Fla.

The Manheim Township graduate will remain in extended spring training as he serves a 50-game suspension, which begins April 1, until he is assigned to one of the Phil's affiliates.

In a telephone interview, his father, Glenn Gallagher, said there were, "many teams," interested in signing his son but backed off in the face of the suspension.

Austin Gallagher ingested methylhexaneamine, which is sometimes found in nasal decongestants, while taking Hydroxycut, an over-the-counter product which he purchased at a General Nutrition Center store.

Methylhexaneamine is on baseball's list of banned substances, but is not listed among the ingredients on the Hydroxycut bottle.

It is also not listed among the ingredients in Hydroxycut pills for sale on the GNC website.

The Phillies, Glenn Gallagher said, went to bat for his son at the commissioner's office, but minor leaguers have no union protection and no avenue to contest a suspension.

Austin Gallagher, 24, hit .283 in 2012 with 15 home runs and 27 doubles in 105 games for Rancho Cucamonga, the Dodgers' affiliate in the Class A California League.

He has spent four of his five pro seasons in the High-A California League. Gallagher was a third-round pick of the Dodgers straight out of high school in the June 2007 draft.

Gallagher's brother Cameron, 20, is considered one of the top prospects in the Kansas City Royals' system.

He has been invited to spring training with the major league club, said his father, who looks forward to having both his sons on the East Coast, should Cameron catch on with the Royals affiliates at either Lexington, Ky., or Wilmington, Del. n