David Phelps (baseball)


David Edward Phelps is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball. He previously played for the New York Yankees, Miami Marlins, Seattle Mariners, Toronto Blue Jays, and Chicago Cubs. Prior to beginning his professional career, Phelps played college baseball at the University of Notre Dame.

Amateur career

Phelps attended Hazelwood West High School in Hazelwood, Missouri, where he played basketball and baseball. For the baseball team, he was named to the All-Conference Team as both an outfielder and pitcher as a sophomore, and as team captain and to the All-Conference, All-Metro Performer, and team captain as a junior and senior. He was a member of the National Honor Society.
Though he was ranked as the sixth best prospect from Missouri prior to the 2005 Major League Baseball draft, he was not selected due to his strong commitment to enroll at the University of Notre Dame, where he pitched for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish baseball team. As a freshman, Phelps pitched sparsely as a reliever. As a sophomore, he pitched in the starting rotation, earning Big East All-Conference First Team, Academic All-District and Academic All-American honors. He struggled in his junior season. While in college, he also pitched for the Mat-Su Miners of the Alaska Baseball League, and in 2007 for the Falmouth Commodores of the Cape Cod League.

Professional career

New York Yankees

, the scouting director for the New York Yankees, noticed Phelps while on a visit to Notre Dame to scout Kyle Weiland, Phelps' teammate. Based on Oppenheimer's recommendation, the Yankees selected Phelps in the 14th round of the 2008 Major League Baseball draft. Phelps was named to the 2010 Eastern League All-Star Game. In 2011, he played for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. Phelps was named the Yankees minor league pitcher of the year for 2010. He was added to the Yankees 40-man roster after the 2011 season to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.
Phelps made the Yankees' Opening Day roster in 2012. On April 29, 2012, he was moved into the starting rotation to replace the struggling Freddy García. Phelps started 0–0 with a 3.57 ERA in six games before the switch. After making two starts for the Yankees, the team shifted him back to the bullpen when they promoted Andy Pettitte. On June 14, 2012, Phelps was sent down to Triple-A after David Robertson came off from the disabled list. Phelps returned to the team as a starter when Pettitte and CC Sabathia were placed on the DL with injuries.
During a game against the New York Mets on May 29, 2013, Phelps surrendered 5 runs in the first inning and only lasted of an inning. It was the shortest outing for any Yankees starting pitcher at the new Yankee Stadium. On July 6, 2013, Phelps was placed on the 15-day disabled list due to a right forearm strain. On August 15, 2013, Phelps was transferred to the 60-day disabled list. On September 14, 2013 Phelps was reinstated from the 60-day disabled list.
In 2014, Phelps had a 5-5 record with a 4.38 ERA in 113 innings with 92 strikeouts and 42 walks in 32 games, 17 starts.

Miami Marlins

On December 19, 2014, the Yankees traded Phelps and Martín Prado to the Miami Marlins for Nathan Eovaldi, Garrett Jones, and Domingo Germán.
At the start of the 2016 season, Phelps was installed as the Marlins primary setup reliever, usually called in to pitch the eighth inning. Through 25 games, he has maintained an ERA of 1.93

Seattle Mariners

On July 20, 2017, the Marlins traded Phelps to the Seattle Mariners for prospects Brayan Hernandez, Brandon Miller, Pablo Lopez, and Lukas Schiraldi. On March 21, 2018, Phelps suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, and was ruled out for the entire season.

Toronto Blue Jays

Phelps signed with the Toronto Blue Jays on January 12, 2019.

Chicago Cubs

The Blue Jays traded Phelps to the Chicago Cubs on July 30, 2019, in exchange for minor league player Thomas Hatch.

Milwaukee Brewers

On January 29, 2020, Phelps signed a one-year deal with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Pitching style

Phelps throws four pitches. He has a four-seam fastball, two-seam fastball, cutter and a changeup. The two-seamer is his primary pitch to left-handed hitters, and his four-seamer is his primary pitch to right-handers. He uses his changeup exclusively against lefties. He likes to use his cutter in 2-strike counts against righties.

Personal life

Phelps is a devout Catholic and frequently attends Mass at St. Patrick's Catholic Cathedral in Midtown Manhattan.
Phelps met his wife, Maria, at Notre Dame when they had to work together on an assignment. They had their first child, a daughter, in 2012, and a second daughter in 2013.