The Phillies have been aggressive with the relief market at the 2017-2018 MLB Winter Meetings. First, the Phillies reportedly agreed to terms with former Phillies reliever Pat Neshek. The club was linked to reliever Addison Reed, but a Buster Olney report that the Phillies were "closing in" on a three-year, $27 million deal appear to be false. But the Phillies have apparently landed reliever Tommy Hunter.
Jon Heyman of Fan Rag Sports reported that the Phillies do indeed have a deal in place with Hunter. Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer had previously reported that the Reed rumors were false and that the Phillies were nearing a deal with Hunter. Heyman followed that up with another tweet that the deal will be for two years.
Hunter is a seasoned Major League veteran reliever. Now 32 years old, Hunter made his major league debut with the Texas Rangers in 2008 as a starter. After moving on to the Baltimore Orioles, Hunter became a relief pitcher in 2012 and has not made a start since the 2013 season began.
Hunter has been mostly effective as a reliever. In 2017 with the Tampa Bay Rays, Hunter went 3-5 with a 2.61 earned run average in 61 games and 58 2/3 innings. Hunter struck out 64, while walking 14.
