THURSDAY, 2:39pm: Valdez cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple A Las Vegas, tweets Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star.
TUESDAY, 8:53am: The Blue Jays designated reliever Merkin Valdez for assignment last night as part of a series of moves, reports MLB.com's Jordan Bastian. Valdez, 28, appeared in only two games for the Jays.
Valdez was designated for assignment in January by the Giants to make room for Aubrey Huff. Six days later, the Blue Jays acquired the reliever for cash considerations. He's out of options, a factor in the team's decision to keep him around this long. Valdez posted a 5.66 ERA, 6.9 K/9, and 5.1 BB/9 in 49.3 innings for the Giants last year. He throws in the mid-90s and was ranked among the top 60 prospects in baseball before October '06 Tommy John surgery.
