Talk about having a strong farm system.
Right-handed pitcher Phillippe Aumont, who left baseball after the 2020 season to become a farmer, has come out of retirement to sign a minor-league deal with the Blue Jays, according to the team’s transactions log.
A native of Gatineau, Quebec, Aumont, 37, will attempt to resurrect his career with the defending American League champions — 11 years after he last threw a pitch in the majors.
He will also suit up for Team Canada in this year’s World Baseball Classic, his fourth time appearing in the tournament.
After COVID-19 wiped out the entire minor league season, Aumont stepped away from baseball to, as he put it, “go back to nature.”
“There’s a meaning to it. I want to touch nature. I want to learn about animals, and growing vegetables and fruit crops,” Aumont told CBC’s “Ottawa Morning” about his decision to retire six years ago. “Just the endless possibilities for me on a farm are priceless.
“Baseball has been great. Baseball allowed me to do a lot of things in life, and I’m very thankful. But when the pandemic hit you saw what it caused in our cities. I just felt a need to start something, to just go back to nature and get away from negative stuff.”
Aumont briefly returned to the mound during the 2023 WBC with Canada — reaching 92 mph with his fastball — but insisted at the time that he had no interest in a full-time comeback.
Once a highly touted prospect, the 6-foot-7, 265-pound right-hander was selected 11th overall by the Mariners in the 2007 MLB Draft.
Seattle traded him to the Phillies two years later as part of the blockbuster swap that sent ace Cliff Lee to the Mariners.
Aumont made his MLB debut in August 2012 and appeared in parts of four seasons with the Phillies.
In 46 major league appearances, Aumont owns a 6.80 ERA with 42 strikeouts across 43 2/3 innings.
The journeyman then inked minor league pacts with the White Sox, Tigers and Blue Jays while also appearing in the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball.
While a return to the majors after more than a decade away remains a long shot, Aumont provides experienced depth for a Blue Jays pitching staff already dealing with multiple injuries at the outset of spring training.
Starter Bowden Francis will miss all of 2026 after ulnar collateral ligament surgery, while fellow right-hander Shane Bieber is expected to be sidelined with right forearm fatigue to start the season.