Coincidentally, Lee was back in a Phillies uniform before any of the three players he was traded for arrived in the big leagues. Fittingly, Aumont prepared to pitch out of a major league bullpen for the first time on a night Lee was scheduled to pitch, Tuesday at Citizens Bank Park.
Aumont was recalled from Triple A Lehigh Valley on Monday night.
"I don't know . . . I think that was more [of an issue] a couple years ago," Aumont said of being a part of the highly unpopular Lee trade. "We have Cliff back. And I am just trying to go out there and trying to have fun and finish the season on a good note with the guys here."
The Lee trade, of course, was an unmitigated disaster. The Phils traded one of the major league's hottest commodities - a Cy Young-winning pitcher with a stellar postseason resume and a Joe Blanton-like, cheap and manageable salary, for three 21-year-olds. Then the Phils had to trade for a starting pitcher to replace Lee 7 months later, subtracting more prospects from that aforementioned barren farm system, including a guy who could have very well taken over the reins in centerfield for Shane Victorino this season, Anthony Gose.
Tyson Gillies, back on the field at Double A Reading, has played in a grand total of 92 games in three minor league seasons marred by injuries, a drug arrest (charges were later dropped) and a suspension for yelling at a bus driver.
Ramirez was converted to a reliever after two unimpressive seasons as a starter; he is 21-23 with a 4.58 in 90 games in the Phils system.
Aumont, an enigmatic pitcher with the stuff but not the consistency to dominate, is and was always the X-factor among the Lee Trade Trio. The 11th overall pick in the 2007 draft - taken three picks before Atlanta's Jason Heyward - Aumont has the repertoire and body type that brings to mind a young Ryan Madson.
But the 6-7, 260-pound reliever has struggled to command the strike zone. Aumont, who turns 24 in January, has racked up 137 strikeouts in 97 innings as a reliever the last two seasons, but he's also walked 59 batters.
"He has great stuff, great stuff - off-the-charts stuff," Phillies pitching coach Rich Dubee said. "But stuff isn't good enough. You have to locate in the strike zone with consistency, that's all it is."
How do you do that?
"Pitch," Dubee said. "Try to find a delivery that will work and that's consistent."
Aumont may or may not get that opportunity in Philadelphia this week. He was added to the roster to replace fellow reliever Jeremy Horst, who was placed on the paternity-leave list on Monday night. Charlie Manuel said Horst was expected back Wednesday.
Contact Ryan Lawrence at rlawrence@phillynews.com.
