BLUE JAYS PURCHASE CONTRACT OF TREVOR CLIFTON
Ottawa, ON – The Toronto Blue Jays purchased the contract of Ottawa Titans' right-handed pitcher Trevor Clifton on Wednesday.
Clifton, 28, made 23 appearances (two starts) for the Titans in 2023, posting a 4.60 ERA in 29.1 innings. The 6-foot-4 right-hander went 3-1 and struck out 47, good enough for a 14.4 K/9 in his return to professional baseball. Previously, Clifton spent seven seasons in the Chicago Cubs system, reaching Triple-A.
Drafted by the Cubs out of Heritage High School (Maryville, Tennessee) in the 12th round of the 2013 MLB Draft, Clifton went a career 35-42 with a 4.04 ERA in 138 appearances (124 starts, 14 in relief) over 624.1 innings from 2013-2019. In each of his final five seasons of affiliated ball, Clifton threw at least 99 innings or more, tossing a career-high 126 frames in 2018.
The right-hander's best season in the Cubs organization came in 2016 at advanced-A Myrtle Beach, where he went 7-7 with a 2.72 ERA in 119 innings across 23 starts. That season, he was named an all-star, the Carolina League's Pitcher of the Year, and the Cubs Minor League Pitcher of the Year.
Clifton is expected to be assigned to the double-A Eastern League's New Hampshire Fisher Cats and is the first member of the Ottawa Titans to have their contract purchased by a Major League organization in franchise history.
