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Former Blue Jay Thomas Hatch signs minor league deal with Diamondbacks
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Photo credit: © Matt Krohn-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Jan 10, 2026, 12:00 ESTUpdated: Jan 10, 2026, 10:53 EST
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Former Toronto Blue Jay Thomas Hatch has found a new home.
On Thursday, MLB Trade Rumors’ Anthony Franco reported that the 31-year-old has signed a minor league deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He also received an invite to Spring Training.
Hatch was originally drafted by the Chicago Cubs, but was traded to the Blue Jays for David Phelps in a deal shortly before the trade deadline. The 31-year-old had six good starts in Double-A, but found himself on the Blue Jays’ roster during the pandemic-impacted 2020 season.
It’s odd to look back on now given how Hatch’s big league career unraveled, but he actually pitched quite well with the Jays that year. Overall, he finished with a 2.73 ERA and 4.14 FIP in 26.1 innings pitched, with a 21.1 K% and 11.9 BB%, giving up just two home runs that season.
The rest of Hatch’s career as a Blue Jay didn’t go quite as well. Most of his 2021 season was spent with the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons, where he had a 4.04 ERA and 4.41 FIP in 64.2 innings pitched. In the big leagues, Hatch pitched nine and one-third innings, posting a 6.75 ERA and 6.49 FIP,  giving up two home runs in the three games he appeared in.
His 2022 season wasn’t any better, posting a 4.67 ERA and 4.52 FIP in 131 innings pitched in Triple-A. Hatch made one big league start in early July that year, where he gave up 10 earned runs over four and two-thirds innings.
The 31-year-old’s final season in the Blue Jays organization was in 2023, pitching 45 innings for the Bisons, making just three starts in his 30 appearances and posting a 4.40 ERA and 5.02 FIP. Hatch appeared in six big league games with the Jays, where he actually pitched quite well, owning a 4.26 ERA and 2.47 FIP in 6.1 innings pitched. He struggled with command (14.3 BB%), but struck out 28.6% of the batters he faced.
When the Blue Jays designated him for assignment in early August 2023, making way for Davis Schneider, the Pittsburgh Pirates put in a claim on the righty, ending his Blue Jays tenure. Hatch appeared in 12 games for the Pirates in the final two months of the 2023 season, authoring a 4.03 ERA and 4.06 FIP in 22.1 innings pitched.
At season’s end, the Pirates released Hatch, as the right-handed pitcher joined the Hiroshima Toyo Carp in Nippon Professional Baseball. Overseas, he made just five starts, posting a 7.36 ERA and 5.65 FIP in 22 innings pitched. Before the start of the 2025 season, he returned to North America, signing a minor league deal with the Kansas City Royals.
Hatch only pitched an inning with the Royals in the big leagues, but got a significant look with Minnesota Twins toward the end of the season, as he had a 5.45 ERA and 5.77 FIP in 33 innings pitched, the most innings Hatch has thrown in a season in the big leagues.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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