The Blue Jays announced that David Phelps will break camp with the team, and that his minor league contract has been selected to the active roster.
The veteran right-hander will receive a $1.75MM salary, and Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith (via Twitter) reports that Phelps can earn another $1.75MM in incentives. Phelps gets an extra $250K for appearing in 35 games, and then additional $250K bonuses for every additional five appearances, topping out at the 65-game plateau.
Phelps is now set to play in what will be his 10th Major League season, and looks to rebound from an injury-shortened 2021. A ruptured lat muscle ended Phelps’ season after only 10 1/3 innings of work, and the 35-year-old said he even considered retiring rather than face such a lengthy recovery process. However, Phelps decided to give it another chance, and ended up re-signing with Toronto on a minors deal. It isn’t the first time Phelps has overcome a major injury, as he missed a big chunk of 2013 due to a forearm strain, and then all of the 2018 season recovering from Tommy John surgery.
These stops and starts have perhaps made Phelps something of an underrated pitcher, especially since he became more or less a full-time reliever in 2016. Since the start of the 2016 campaign, Phelps has a 3.12 ERA and 29.9% strikeout rate over 207 2/3 innings with six different teams. Phelps is prone to some free passes (he also has a 10.4% walk rate over the last six seasons), but he has generally been a solid bullpen weapon when healthy. Toronto is hopeful that Phelps can continue this form in 2022, and add some depth to a relief corps that is pretty much unchanged from last year, barring the acquisition of Yimi Garcia.
If he can stick on the roster most of the year he will earn that pension. Rooting for him
9 years in the majors? Go go get’em man. Can this guy swim?
Agreed, I’m rooting for him and any player to get their gold cards from the union.
I think he’s just about got it. Only needs 16 days.
That being the case, hopefully he won’t be called on much in the first two and a half weeks of the season. This guy’s toast.
Hopefully he can stay healthy guys a good middle inning reliever who has terrible luck
Congrats David!
His injury was a key element to jays tire fire bullpen in May and June. Hopefully he can stay healthy, he’s looked very sharp in spring so far.
That had to be the worst stretch of a bullpen in mlb history. Merryweather and Phelps hurt, Dolis and chatwood forgetting how to throw strikes and no one in the minors coming in to help.
That stretch was all the more painful once they missed the playoffs by 1 game while playing great ball.
Here’s a guy who has been consistently effective when healthy, and that dates back to his days in Miami. Good for him in making the cut, and best of luck staying off the IL this year. Jays need this arm on the regular.
Phelps has pitched a combined 31 innings since 2019. Hard to tell if he’s any good now given the small sample size.
Still rooting for him and still mad at Cash for trading him. He’s not an ace but guys like this are the unsung heroes on pitching staffs. Spots starts, plug into the rotation for a IL, long relief, short relief…..guy used to pitch in any role needed.
Good for Phelpsie.
Obviously, I hope we light him all kinds of up. But I’m glad he got another contract.
I wish Phelps the best. When healthy he has had moments of reliever brilliance. Will all the rest and rehab he’ll start off well but let’s see how he does as the year wears on. I suspect he won’t hold up.
One spot left on the 40 man roster, thinking Bird is the next one