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Blue Jays Acquire Catcher Miguel Montero

The Toronto Blue Jays have announced the acquisition of catcher Miguel Montero and cash considerations from the Cubs in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations.

To make room on the 40-man roster, outfielder Darrell Ceciliani, who suffered a shoulder injury in mid-May, has been transferred to the 60-day disabled list.

Montero was designated for assignment on June 28th after criticizing pitcher Jake Arrieta for his inability to hold runners during a 6-1 loss to the Washington Nationals. However, Montero has not thrown out any of the 31 potential base stealers who have run against him this season, so his criticism seemed awfully misplaced and resulted in him being let go. The Blue Jays will visit Wrigley Field and the Cubs on August 18th.

The acquisition signals an attempt by the Jays’ front office to bolster its dismal offense. The thirty-three year old switch-hitter is batting .286/.366/.439 with a .290 TAv and .338 BABIP in 44 games with the Cubs. He provides some much-needed depth at the catcher position and will replace Luke Maile as the backup to Russell Martin. Maile, for all his defensive skills, has had an abysmal time at the plate, slashing a paltry .115/.149/.188 with a .149 TAv.

According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, the Cubs are picking up the vast majority of the remaining ~$7 million of Montero’s $14 million contract. He becomes a free agent at the end of this season.

What this means for the Blue Jays’ trade deadline plans is still unknown. They haven’t been playing like a team that deserves to be buyers, but with the rest of the AL in similar situations, a strong run before the All-Star break can change the entire view of things.

Lead Photo: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

 

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