Phillies Sign Reliever Tommy Hunter For Two Years

According to Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports, the Phillies have signed reliever Tommy Hunter. He also reports that the deal is for two years. Ken Rosenthal later reported the deal is worth about $18 million.

The Phillies have already signed Pat Neshek this offseason and are starting to form a strong bullpen.

After signing a minor league deal with the Tampa Bay Rays in February, Hunter proved to be a consistently reliable arm in the back end of the bullpen, posting a 2.61 ERA with 64 strikeouts and 14 walks in 58.2 innings. He was particularly effective against left-handed batters, who managed to hit only .170 with five extra-base hits against the 31-year-old.

As was the case with Bryan Shaw and the Rockies, the Mets were unable to beat out the Phillies in the Hunter sweepstakes.