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Phillies Release Dontrelle Willis

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 16, 2012 at 9:15am CDT

The Phillies announced that they released left-hander Dontrelle Willis. The Sosnick Cobbe client signed a one-year, $1MM contract with Philadelphia in December and had been expected to contribute out of the bullpen.

Willis pitched 75 2/3 innings for the Reds in 2011 — his highest total since 2007. The 30-year-old southpaw posted a 5.00 ERA with 6.8 K/9, 4.4 BB/9 and a 54.5% ground ball rate in 13 second half starts with Cincinnati this past season. The Mariners, Blue Jays, Red Sox and Reds reportedly had interest in Willis as a reliever before he signed with the Phillies.

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Philadelphia Phillies Transactions Dontrelle Willis

Olney On Blue Jays, Epstein, Dodgers, Padres
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Yankees Notes: Pineda, Ibanez, Willis
View Comments (39)
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39 Comments

  1. Matt Weaver

    13 years ago

    Grab him, Pittsburgh! Before he leaves the state!

    Reply
  2. nathanalext

    13 years ago

    Didn’t see this coming.. Why?

    Reply
    • Muggi

      13 years ago

       I think this was as much a favor to him as anything. Sore arm, being outperformed by the other guys vying for the second LOOGY position (and his ineffectiveness to RH batters anymore)…this at least gives him a chance to catch on with another MLB team. He was destined for the Phils’ AAA team as things were going.

      Good guy from all the rumors. Wish him luck.

      Reply
  3. bonds2425

    13 years ago

    The D train has comes to his last destination

    Reply
    • rockfordone

      13 years ago

      Sad but true

      Reply
  4. Nick

    13 years ago

    Nice guy, but he has been slowed by a sore arm and hasn’t been effective. Better to cut ties early before they were on the hook for his entire salary. Hopefully they can resign him to a minor league deal and he can work his way back and get adjusted to the bullpen roll. I doubt he gets any major league offers. He showed nothing in spring training to indicate he would.

    Reply
  5. stonepie

    13 years ago

    i must have missed this signing… didnt think anyone would give him a million dollar contract

    Reply
  6. donjuandemarco

    13 years ago

    He’d be worth adding as potential.  Grab him Theo!

    Reply
  7. TophersReds

    13 years ago

    Come back to Cincy on a Minor League deal, D-Train. We were the team, afterall, that took you in to show the Phillies that you could be worth 1M this year. Maybe he should try playing the outfield or something, because his bat it good enough, haha. 

    Reply
  8. nm344

    13 years ago

    Phils have enough guys who are just as good or better who are making the minimum: Savery and especially Diekman who has a real shot to make the team.

    Reply
    • ColonelTom

      13 years ago

      Sad to see Dontrelle go, but it’s a sensible move.  They’ll save about $300K – Dontrelle gets some cash for making it this far – but more importantly they’ll find out if one of the kids (Diekman, Savery, Horst, or maybe Aumont if they go with one lefty) can hack it at the big-league level.

      Reply
  9. CreativeMace

    13 years ago

    Dontrelle Willis = Adam Loewen?

    Reply
    • HobokenMetsFan

      13 years ago

      hah I had the same thought

      Reply
  10. Bruce Baumann

    13 years ago

    Maybe he should think about playing the field. He’s got a career .247/.277/.378 line in just under 500 PA’s….just sayin’.

    Reply
  11. Cassy

    13 years ago

    Hardest working pitcher I know in the offseason! Whoever grabs him will def get moneys worth!

    Reply
    • 55saveslives

      13 years ago

       Not sure about that…when the Giants signed him, he showed up 20lbs overweight

      Reply
      • eyeglass1

        13 years ago

        wow.. so, he was like at 400 lbs? that’s fat man. 🙂

        Reply
  12. Max I.

    13 years ago

    It’s crazy how they let him go

    Reply
  13. OsFan106

    13 years ago

    He’ll be an Oriole by next week. Theyre always picking guys up off of the scrap heap.

    Reply
    • Lefty

      13 years ago

      Hahahahaha, no I don’t think this time.
      His arm isn’t right, which is a shame.
      Unless, they want to sign him to a minor league deal, I don’t see the point.
      Although, I would rather have Willis rather than Fossum’s Flop or Flip or whatever it is.

      Reply
    • Max Pogacar

      13 years ago

      Ha. I love it. As another O’s fan, I am totally bracing for exactly that.
      Still, I loved Dontrelle when he first hit the bigs. Who is to say he couldn’t regain some of his form? Hell, did you see Matusz the other day? Six K’s against the real Tigers? Kinda weird…

      Reply
      • OsFan106

        13 years ago

        Matusz looked solid the other day. Im hoping he puts it together this year.

        Reply
      • skoods

        13 years ago

        When a guy gets axed in the middle of spring training, it usually means he’s not close to regaining his form.

        Reply
    • Runtime

      13 years ago

      Like JoJo Reyes?
      LOL

      Reply
  14. HobokenMetsFan

    13 years ago

    With Byrdak going down for surgery and slated to miss the beginning of the season, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Mets take a flyer.

    He will come cheap, after all……

    Reply
  15. jbhjkhjhkjhk

    13 years ago

    Was that $1 million contract guaranteed?  If so, this was an incredibly foolish signing.

    Reply
    • skoods

      13 years ago

      No, it wasn’t. 

      Reply
  16. Mike H

    13 years ago

    This shouldn’t really be surprising. D-Train’s success was pretty much always due to his delivery first and his stuff second. Given enough time batters were always going to figure him out, and now he’s to the point where he can’t get by anymore.

    Reply
    • Ryan

      13 years ago

      I just took another look at his numbers.  You are right, I was very surprised that his peripherals were as weak as they are.  He only ever had a WHIP below 1.3 once in his career, he was very hittable, and his K/BB ratio was nothing special.  He ate alot of innings, and once won 20 games.  But that’s about it. 

      I think he would have ended up in the bullpen eventually anyway, because of his success vs LH, but the combination of injury and inactivity seem to have scuttled that possibility, at least for now.  He is still barely 30, so if he works hard, he might catch on again, but its questionable how much desire he has left.

      Reply
  17. Greg Munster

    13 years ago

    I think it would be a wise move for the reds to sign him to a minor league deal as a backup plan for Bill Bray… that way Chapman could remain a starter…. 

    Reply
  18. goner

    13 years ago

     Hopefully D-Train catches on with another team.

    Reply
  19. Andy

    13 years ago

    Brewers need a lefty in the pen and Willis is pretty cheap. Might be a smart move.

    Reply
  20. headsupkid01

    13 years ago

    What happen? Did he bug out?

    Reply
  21. RhapsodyinBlue

    13 years ago

    Dontrelle, we hardy knew ye

    Another beaut from Ruben Amaro, quickly becoming the biggest buffoon in baseball

    Reply
    • nepp

      13 years ago

       taking a flyer on a guy with a non-guaranteed deal and then cutting him loose when he doesnt show anything is a “beaut”?

      I mean, if you want to rip Amaro, there are plenty of legit things to use…this isn’t one of them.

      Reply
      • RhapsodyinBlue

        13 years ago

        He counted on him being the other leftie in the bullpen, now it’s just Bastardo. Here comes the overpaying at the deadline rumors for another leftie

        Reply
    • nepp

      13 years ago

       taking a flyer on a guy with a non-guaranteed deal and then cutting him loose when he doesnt show anything is a “beaut”?

      I mean, if you want to rip Amaro, there are plenty of legit things to use…this isn’t one of them.

      Reply

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