Phillies

Report: Phillies Agree to One-Year Deal with Dontrelle Willis

By Kyle Scott

Published: Dec 13th, 2011 · 10:15 AM EST

---

Whoa. If one thing has come out of this offseason, it’s been the Phillies' interest in bench players. If there’s another, it’s the team’s interest in left-handed pitchers.

Last week, the Phillies were rumored to be in talks with the Athletics about Gio Gonzalez. Yesterday, they traded Ben Francisco for Frank Gailey, a promising left-handed prospect. Today, Jerry Crasnick reports that Phillies are close to signing Dontrelle Willis.

UPDATE: Jim Salisbury confirms the report.

The Phillies have an agreement on one-year deal with Dontrelle Willis, pending a physical, according to source. @jcrasnick reported first

— Jim Salisbury (@JSalisburyCSN) December 13, 2011

Let's begin the head scratching: Willis has appeared in only 28 games (26 starts) over the last two seasons, for three teams. He was 3-9 in that timeframe with ERAs of 5.62 and 5.00, respectively.

Inquirer beat reporter Matt Gelb's source says Willis will be a reliever with the Phillies.

Todd Zolecki reports the deal is for under $1 million, plus incentives.

As our friends from (@Philsvilleblog) point out, Jimmy Rollins and Willis are both from the Bay Area, went to same high school… and were in MC Hammer videos.

Of course, all of these "reports" are great, but Willis and Shane Victorino all but confirmed the deal on Twitter late last night:

Welcome to town, homie.