December 2, 2019

By Kevin Glew

Canadian Baseball Network

Canadian Phillippe Aumont (Gatineau, Que.) has signed a minor league deal with the Toronto Blue Jays that includes an invite to major league spring training.

The Blue Jays announced the deal on Monday.

Infielder Andy Burns, right-hander A.J. Cole, outfielder Patrick Kivlehan and right-hander Justin Miller also signed similar deals with the Blue Jays.

Aumont posted an 8-4 record with a 2.65 ERA in 18 starts for the Can Am League’s Ottawa Champions in 2019. On July 16, the 6-foot-7 right-hander fanned 18 batters to set a Can-Am League record for strikeouts in a single game. Just over a month later, on August 18, Aumont struck out nine New Jersey Jackals in a complete-game shutout to break the Can Am League single-season strikeout record (130). He finished the season with 145 strikeouts. For his performance, he was named the Can Am League’s Pitcher of the Year.

Aumont also picked up wins in both of his starts for the silver medal-winning Canadian national team at the Pan Am Games in July, tossing a combined 13 shutouts innings against Argentina and Nicaragua. His dominance on the international stage continued when he threw eight scoreless innings for Canada in their 3-0 win over Cuba in the opening game of the WSBC Premier12 tournament in November.

A 2007 first-round draft pick of the Seattle Mariners, Aumont just completed his 12th pro season. He made 46 appearances in the majors for the Philadelphia Phillies between 2012 and 2015. He has also toed the rubber in the Mariners, Detroit Tigers and Chicago White Sox organizations, as well as in a previous stint in the Blue Jays organization with triple-A Buffalo in 2015.

As a teen, Aumont pitched for Les Ailes du Québec and Académie Baseball Canada under coach Joël Landry.