Hunter makes his pitch, helps Phillies land Arrieta

CLEARWATER — Tommy Hunter’s biggest pitch for the Philadelphia Phillies came before he even took the mound for his new team.

Since he signed a twoyear deal in December, the reliever had been pushing Jake Arrieta to follow him to Philadelphia. Done deal. Arrieta and the Phillies finalized a $75 million, three-year contract on Monday, a deal that could be worth up to $135 million over five seasons. Arrieta was to be introduced at spring training during a news conference on Tuesday.

“I’ve been on the phone with him this whole entire offseason to see if it can work out,” Hunter said Monday. “I was coming hard. It’s not up to you as a player or a friend. Ultimately it’s up to the people in charge to get this done and they did it.”

General manager Matt Klentak called it an “exciting day for the Phillies organization and our fans.”

“Jake is among the best pitchers in baseball and his list of accomplishments is exceptional,” Klentak said in a press release. “He is an elite competitor, a tireless worker and a winner, and I am confident that he will be a great addition to our talented young team and the city of Philadelphia.”

Hunter and Arrieta have been friends since their college days. They spent four years together in Baltimore and have remained close. Hunter said their wives have been texting each other regularly about places to live.

“He’s a competitor and he brings it every day and the way he goes about playing baseball is going to teach a lot of guys there’s a lot of different ways to being successful and he’s an example of that,” Hunter said. “He’s going to take pressure off the younger guys. He’s a guy you can talk to. He’s been through the lowest of lows and he’s won a Cy Young and he’s a guy who players can relate to and strive to be like.”