Phillippe Aumont is stepping back onto a Major League mound - or at least aiming to - in a comeback story that feels both improbable and undeniably compelling. The 37-year-old right-hander, once a top prospect and now a seasoned veteran with more miles on his arm than most, has signed a minor league deal with the Toronto Blue Jays and will join their big league spring training camp.
It’s been a long road back for Aumont, whose last MLB pitch came more than a decade ago during a rough outing against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Since then, he’s bounced around the minors, dealt with injuries, and even spent time away from the game entirely - working on a farm in his native Quebec after retiring in 2020. But baseball, as it often does, kept calling.
Aumont’s return isn’t just about chasing a roster spot. He’s already set to represent Team Canada in the upcoming World Baseball Classic, a role he also filled in 2023.
But now, he’s got a shot at something even more special: making the roster of Canada’s only MLB team. That’s the kind of full-circle moment that doesn’t come around often.
His big league numbers - 1-6 with a 6.80 ERA over 46 games with the Phillies from 2012 to 2015 - don’t tell the whole story. Aumont was once considered one of the most promising arms in the game.
Drafted 11th overall by the Mariners in 2007, he was a key piece in the 2009 trade that sent Cliff Lee to Seattle. That deal alone speaks to how highly he was valued at the time.
But like many hard-throwing prospects, Aumont’s path was anything but linear. After his stint with the Phillies ended in 2015, he had a brief run with the Blue Jays’ Triple-A club. Then came a string of stops: a short-lived stint with the White Sox’s Triple-A team that ended in injury, a brief retirement, and a return with Ottawa in the independent Canadian-American Association in 2017.
In 2018, he gave affiliated ball another shot, making 29 appearances in the Tigers’ system. And then, just as it seemed like the door had closed for good, Aumont quietly stepped away again - only to resurface in the World Baseball Classic and now, back with the Blue Jays.
Make no mistake: this is a long shot. Aumont isn’t the 21-year-old fireballer anymore.
But he brings something different to camp - a veteran presence, international experience, and a story that resonates. For a Blue Jays team looking to round out its pitching depth, there’s value in that.
Whether Aumont ends up breaking camp with the club or simply inspires a few younger arms along the way, his return adds a layer of intrigue to spring training. And for Canadian baseball fans, seeing one of their own try to make it back - not just to the majors, but with the Blue Jays - is a storyline worth watching.