The Phillies have released relief pitcher Scott Mathieson Tuesday afternoon, the team reported.
Mathieson was released to pursue an opportunity to play in Asia according to the team. The move puts the Phillies at 39 players on the 40-man roster. It leaves room for them to lock up one more player before the Rule 5 draft.
Mathieson’s career never really took off for the Phillies. He was drafted in the 17th round of the 2002 amateur draft by the Phillies.
His major league career started in 2006 but Tommy John surgery sidelines the hard throwing right hander for a couple years and he began his journey back to the majors.
He finally returned to the majors in 2010, allowing three runs, two earned, in 1 2/3 innings pitched. He got more time in 2011, pitching five total shut out innings.
Mathieson had been a hard thrower his entire career. Even after the Tommy John surgery, Mathieson still throws in the mid-90’s and can be a valuable asset to a team if he can only control his location. Those accuracy problems are the reason he was never a mainstay with the Phillies the last two years.
TTB 