The Blue Jays have acquired catcher Luke Maile from the Rays on a waiver claim, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports:
#Rays C Luke Maile, who was DFA'd on Saturday, is heading to the #BlueJays
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) April 6, 2017
Topkin also reports that Maile, 26, will be assigned to the AAA Buffalo Bisons, not the Blue Jays. With Russell Martin starting and Jarrod Saltalamacchia in the back up role, the Blue Jays are fine behind the plate at the moment. However, that may change soon, as Martin took a foul ball off of his throwing hand in yesterday’s game and seemed to be banged up a bit. He didn’t leave the game and is notorious for playing through injuries, so expecting this to be any different is not very wise.
Maile has appeared in a total of 57 games in the majors for the Rays over the past two seasons, putting up a slash line of .214/.234/.338. He is known for his good defensive skills behind the plate, with an average arm but above average framing, blocking, and receiving skills.
In Buffalo, the Bisons currently have three catchers on the roster in Juan Graterol, Alex Monsalve, and Mike Ohlman, so one would expect one of those guys to be moved down or placed on the inactive list for a bit to make room for Maile.
All in all, a solid move by the Blue Jays. All the minor league depth a team can get is good, and adding it for nothing is even better.
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