Last week, the Philadelphia Phillies released Dontrelle Willis, who'd been working under a non-guaranteed minor-league contract.
Dontrelle Willis Signing With Orioles, According To Report
Well, apparently it’s not taken long for Willis to get another shot. Unofficially, anyway:
Dontrelle Willis is signing a minor league deal with the #Orioles, says a baseball source
— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) March 20, 2012
As things stand now, the Orioles are exceptionally short of left-handed relief pitching, with Troy Patton and Zach Phillips the only apparent contenders for the one or two available bullpen jobs. Now, Patton in particular seems plenty good enough to pitch in the majors, and Phillips has some ability, too. But bullpen depth is rarely a terrible thing, especially if Willis is willing to return to the minors.
Perhaps even as a starter. He did have some success in that role last summer, first in Class AAA and later with the Cincinnati Reds. He's still only 30 and he's still got a pretty good arm. And so he'll keep getting chances to rediscover his control, so mysteriously lost a few years ago.
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