Former MLB pitcher Phillipe Aumont is not pursuing a farm-to-fable return to the majors after all.
Aumont’s name appeared in the Blue Jays’ transactions log on Tuesday, indicating he had signed a minor league deal with the Blue Jays – six years after he retired from baseball to become a full-time farmer.
As it turns out, the 37-year-old’s “unretirement” was merely an administrative move so he could participate in this year’s World Baseball Classic for Team Canada.
Since Aumont voluntarily retired after spending the 2020 campaign in the Blue Jays organization, he needed to be activated from that list and released to be eligible for the WBC, according to The Athletic.
The 2026 WBC will mark the Gatineau, Quebec, native’s fourth time in the tournament after appearing in 2009, 2013 and 2023.
And while his fastball still hit 92 mph during the 2023 tournament, Aumont – who totaled three innings over two appearances – insisted at the time he was not pursuing a comeback.
“After this, I want to keep it where I can still throw a baseball a little bit and then if I get another call [for the national team], it won’t be as big of a mountain to climb to get back to it,” Aumont told SportsNet in March 2023.
“So I definitely want to keep throwing. I don’t feel interested in going anywhere else than that. But I think I have enough in the tank to come back here and help out somehow and bring some experience.”
Taken 11th overall by the Mariners in the 2007 Draft, the highly-touted prospect was later dealt to the Phillies as part of a blockbuster trade that brought Cliff Lee to Seattle.
The 6-foot-7, 265-pound right-hander appeared in parts of four seasons with the Phillies, tallying a career 6.80 ERA in 46 appearances.
Aumont bounced around baseball after the 2015 season, including stints with the Blue Jays, Tigers and White Sox organizations.
In 2020, Aumont joined Toronto on a minor league deal – his second stint with the organization.
However, after COVID wiped out the entire minor league season, he hung up his spikes to focus on crop production instead of run prevention.
“There’s a meaning to it. I want to touch nature. I want to learn about animals, and growing vegetables and fruit crops,” Aumont said during an interview with CBC’s “Ottawa Morning” about his decision to leave the game. “Just the endless possibilities for me on a farm are priceless.
“Baseball has been great. Baseball allowed me to do a lot of things in life, and I’m very thankful. But when the pandemic hit you saw what it caused in our cities. I just felt a need to start something, to just go back to nature and get away from negative stuff.”
