On January 12th, Phillies general manager Matt Klentak made what seemed to be an uneventful free agent signing when he inked outfielder Cedric Hunter to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training.
Hunter had been a 3rd round choice of the San Diego Padres back in the 2006 MLB Amateur Draft out of a Georgia high school. He rose slowly through the Friars’ farm system, and finally received his first big league shot at the start of the 2011 season.
Over the Padres’ first seven games that season, Hunter appeared in six of them, but did not start a single game.