March 7, 2023

Official Ottawa Titans News Release

Ottawa, Ont. - The Ottawa Titans have signed right-handed pitcher Trevor Clifton.

Clifton, 27, heads north of the border to join the front end of the Titans’ rotation for a return to professional baseball in 2023. Last appearing in 2021 for the Acereros de Monclova of the Mexican League, Clifton made only one start, tossing two innings. The 6-foot-4 right-hander previously spent seven seasons in the Chicago Cubs system, reaching triple-A.

Selected by the Cubs out of Heritage High School (Maryville, Tennessee) in the 12th round of the 2013 MLB Draft, Clifton went a career 35-42 with a 4.04 ERA in 138 appearances (124 starts, 14 in relief) over 624 1/3 innings from 2013 to 2019. In each of his final five seasons of affiliated ball, Clifton threw 99 innings or more, tossing a career-high 126 frames in 2018.

Clifton’s best season in the Cubs’ organization came in 2016 at Advanced-A Myrtle Beach, where the right-hander went 7-7 with a 2.72 ERA in 119 innings across 23 starts. That season, he was named an all-star, the Carolina League’s Pitcher of the Year, and the Cubs Minor League Pitcher of the Year.

The Maryville, Tenn., product entered the 2017 season as the Cubs’ eighth ranked prospect per MLB.com, then 28th entering the 2018 season. After a release from the Cubs in 2019, Clifton signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks before the season was cancelled due to the pandemic.

In other news, the Titans have traded INF Daniel Molinari and LHP Kenny Williams to the Missoula PaddleHeads of the Pioneer League in exchange for INF Justin Mazzone and future considerations.

The Ottawa Titans open the 2023 season at home on Friday, May 12 against the Empire State Greys.