The Phillies have officially signed Dontrelle Willis to a one-year deal. Willis passed his physical Thursday afternoon.
A starter throughout his career, the 29-year-old lefthander will move to the bullpen. In 13 starts for the Reds last season, Willis went 1-6 with a 5.00 ERA but held left-handed hitters to a .127 average. In 10 of the 13 starts, he allowed three earned runs or less.
Dontrelle, I believe, is at a point in his career where he is ready to make the transition to being an effective reliever, general manager Ruben Amaro said in a statement released by the team. Because of his experience, past success and overall positive energy, we feel this will be an opportunity to benefit both him and the team, especially with the success he has had against left-handed hitters, both recently and over the course of his career.
From 2003-06, Willis compiled 15 complete games, second-most in the National League behind Livan Hernandez, who had 19. Willis also had 58 wins in that span, tied for fourth in the league.
Selected by the Cubs in the eighth round of the 2000 draft, Willis won the NL Rookie of the Year in 2003 and was an all-star in 2003 and 2005.