The Blue Jays have announced they have claimed outfielder Cole Gillespie off waivers from the Mariners. To clear room on the 40-man roster, Toronto designated outfielder Kenny Wilson for assignment. The Blue Jays still need to make a 25-man roster move and the team says it will do so once Gillespie reports to the club.
Gillespie was designated for assignment by the Mariners yesterday after posting a line of .254/.312./.324 in 78 plate appearances (56 of those against left-handed pitching). Gillespie signed a minor league deal with the Mariners in January.
For someone who has never seen MLB action, Wilson’s name has graced the pages of MLBTR quite a bit over the past ten weeks. This is the third time the 24-year-old has been designated for assignment and the second by the Blue Jays, who also has claimed him off waivers after the Twins designated him in May. Wilson opened the year as Baseball America’s 22nd-ranked prospect in the Blue Jay organization and is said to have starter upside, if he can translate his tools into production, but he has produced pedestrian numbers this season slashing .234/.312/.333 in 324 plate appearances between the Toronto (Double-A/Triple-A) and Minnesota (Double-A) organizations.
