Now, Feliz plays with faded lefthanded slugger Mike Lamb, who hit .184 for Florida last season. They are the corner infielders for the Camden Riversharks, of the independent Atlantic League.
It is a good match. Feliz last season hit .218 with five homers in 137 games with the Cardinals and Astros. He was signed to a minor league deal by the Royals but, after hitting .167 in 24 spring games, was cut late in spring training, just before he would have opted out of his contract, hoping to latch on with another club.
But no other clubs came calling.
"I don't feel like retiring. I feel a need to play the game. I love the game. I think I still have something to give," Feliz said yesterday.
Feliz gave plenty in 11 big-league seasons: a .250 average, 140 home runs, 1,065 hits, consistently wonderful defense and unimpeachable professionalism.
That means nothing when he now brings a repaired back, a slowing bat, heavier legs and diminished range, according to scouts who watched him this spring. The Royals had better options.
So Feliz went home, to Orlando, and waited for his agents to find him work. His agents found him a job, only on the wrong side of the river. He took it.
He needs the action, he said, but not the money. He has earned more than $25 million since turning pro 18 years ago, when the Giants signed him out of the Dominican Republic.
He might make $2,500 a month with Camden.
"You always want the money, but that's not my reason," Feliz said. "I love the game. And I want to stay in the game."
Coming back to Philadelphia is a coincidence, he said, but Riversharks brass say his agents wanted to place Feliz somewhere he would be comfortable as he toils in pro baseball's purgatory.
