Meet The New Guys: Phillippe Aumont

Phillippe Aumont is a 31 year old right handed pitcher from Gatineau, Quebec, who was signed to a one year minor league deal in the offseason. Although he is not currently on the 40 man roster, he is competing for a bullpen role, or a spot starter role with the team this season.

Aumont isn’t a well known player, as he was never a permanent piece to any major league team. He last pitched in the MLB in 2015 with the Phillies, who he has spent his entire four year major league career with. Over his four seasons, he only appeared in 43.2 innings over 46 games, and has started once. Over the last three to four years, Aumont has flip flopped between the Canadian-American Association (CAMA - independent league), and the minor leagues. After being let go by Philly, he latched on with the Jays, finishing the year in AAA Buffalo before being released yet again. This time, Aumont would sign with the Ottawa Champions (CAMA) for the 2017 season, where he would find little success, but enough to get a minor league deal with Detroit the following year. After a 6.58 ERA in AAA, he found himself back in Ottawa for the 2019 season, where he began to turn his career around.

In 2019, Aumont put up extremely strong numbers. Across 18 games — all of which were starts — he threw 118.2 innings with a 2.65 ERA, compared to his 4.51 ERA his first time with the team in 2017. These numbers were strong enough to win the pitcher of the year award, accompanied by interest from multiple MLB teams, especially Toronto.

If Aumont makes the team, he will be the second player on the roster to have turned his career around with the Ottawa Champions. Wilmer Font pitched for Ottawa in 2016, and found himself on an MLB roster the very next year. Upon joining Toronto in 2019, Font took off with a 3.66 ERA with the team. The Jays are likely looking to find another diamond in the rough, and hope that Aumont will turn out the same as Font. He could be another valuable arm in the weak 2020 bullpen, and could quickly become a fan favourite if he finds success between pitching for the Jays, and Canada’s national team in the World Baseball Classic.