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By Jackson Roberts
Contributing Sports Writer
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The Philadelphia Phillies entered the offseason with a fairly obvious need for bullpen depth, and trading All-Star Matt Strahm in December created a specific need for more lefties.
Philadelphia signed former Chicago Cubs breakout star Brad Keller to be one of the setup men to closer Jhoan Duran, and Philadelphia's additions this offseason also included major league veterans Jonathan Bowlan, Zach Pop, and Trevor Richards. On Thursday, one more experienced arm joined the group.
According to a report from Matt Gelb of The Athletic, the Phillies re-signed left-hander Tim Mayza to a minor-league deal with an invite to big-league spring training.
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Mayza originally came to the Phillies when they claimed him off waivers from the Pittsburgh Pirates on Aug. 31. He made eight appearances down the stretch, allowing four earned runs in 7 1/3 innings. Philadelphia included Mayza on its roster for the National League Division Series, but he did not get into a game.
Chris Cotillo of MassLive also reported Thursday that the Boston Red Sox had interest in Mayza before he ultimately chose a return to the Phillies.
Mayza spent the first 6 1/2 seasons of his major league career with the Toronto Blue Jays, and he was lights-out from 2021 to 2023, especially in the latter season. A 1.53 ERA across 53 1/3 innings made Mayza arguably the Blue Jays' most valuable reliever in a season where they earned a wild-card playoff berth.
The 2024 season went so poorly for Mayza, however, that he was released in July, though it worked out for him in the sense that he left the last-place Blue Jays and got to join the New York Yankees in a limited role on their way to an American League pennant.
Heading into his age-34 season, Mayza will be in the thick of the competition for one of the final few spots in the Phillies bullpen during spring training.
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