August 2, 2023

Official Ottawa Titans News Release

Ottawa, Ont. – The Toronto Blue Jays purchased the contract of Ottawa Titans right-handed pitcher Trevor Clifton on Wednesday.

Clifton, 28, made 23 appearances (two starts) for the Titans in 2023, posting a 4.60 ERA in 29 1/3 innings. The 6-foot-4 right-hander went 3-1 and struck out 47, good enough for a 14.4 K/9 in his return to professional baseball. Previously, Clifton spent seven seasons in the Chicago Cubs system, reaching triple-A.

Selected by the Cubs out of Heritage High School (Maryville, Tenn.) in the 12th round of the 2013 MLB Draft, Clifton went a career 35-42 with a 4.04 ERA in 138 appearances (124 starts, 14 in relief) over 624 1/3 innings from 2013 to 2019. In each of his final five seasons of affiliated ball, Clifton threw at least 99 innings or more, tossing a career-high 126 frames in 2018.

The right-hander’s best season in the Cubs organization came in 2016 at Advanced-A Myrtle Beach, where he went 7-7 with a 2.72 ERA in 119 innings across 23 starts. That season, he was named an All-star, the Carolina League’s Pitcher of the Year, and the Cubs Minor League Pitcher of the Year.

Clifton is expected to be assigned to the double-A Eastern League’s New Hampshire Fisher Cats and is the first member of the Ottawa Titans to have their contract purchased by a major league organization in franchise history.