Report: Phillies sign former Blue Jays right-hander Drew Hutchison

Former Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Drew Hutchison (Darren Calabrese/CP)

The Philadelphia Phillies have signed right-hander Drew Hutchison to a minor-league contract with an invite to major league spring training, according to Todd Zolecki of MLB.com.

Hutchison, 27, was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 15th round of the 2009 draft and went on to pitch in parts of four seasons for the big-league club. He was Toronto’s opening day starter in 2015 but struggled heavily that season, finishing with a 5.57 ERA over 150.1 innings.

The right-hander was dealt by Toronto ahead of the 2016 July trade deadline to the Pittsburgh Pirates for left-hander Francisco Liriano and minor-leaguers Reese McGuire and Harold Ramirez.

Hutchison, a native of Lakeland, Fla., did not pitch in the majors last year, instead spending the entire season with Pittsburgh’s triple-A affiliate. He sported a 3.56 ERA and 4.13 FIP over 28 games, 26 of which were starts, across 159.1 innings, while holding opponents to a .248 batting average and averaging seven strikeouts per nine innings.

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