The Blue Jays have designated infielder Steve Tolleson, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports on Twitter. With the move, the club has cleared roster space for the activation of outfielder Michael Saunders.
The 31-year-old Tolleson saw just 12 plate appearances this year for Toronto, picking up three hits and a walk. He saw his most extensive MLB action last year with Toronto, slashing .253/.308/.371 in 189 plate appearances. Tolleson has seen limited action in two other seasons.
Not surprised, his defense in the outfield has been horrid and with Valencia’s bat already trumping him vs LHP he was on thin ice as it was. The only place Tolleson could’ve won time batting was at SS or LF vs LHP. Two positions he looked pretty awkward at already.
Tolleson isn’t an outfielder. He was out there last night because with JBats sitting, the options were to put an infielder out there or to activate Saunders and to have his first game be vs. an LHP.
He is a a utility infielder, and not the kind who you really want at SS much, which is a concern when your starter is Reyes. Plus Tolleson has severe splits so he’s far less effective with the stick against the large majority of pitchers, the RHPs.
Tolleson might well be more helpful to a different kind of team, but with the Jays, I can understand why he was the odd man out.
I’m saying he’s not going to get any playing time because he simply can’t crack the lineup with everyone healthy. Valencia and Travis take any positions he’d be able to play at 2B/3B and Reyes is dealing with an injury meaning he’s going to be substituted in blowouts and given days off here and there regardless, which is why Goins wasn’t sent down.
Tolleson is actually supposed to be a super utility guy, he’s supposed to be able to play the outfield which he’s shown he’s pretty incapable of with the few games we’ve seen him play over the last few years. Him not being able to play LF, meant that he’s basically got nowhere to bat with a LHP on the mound.
Also, Tolleson was in the lineup vs a LHP 2 weeks ago in New York in LF with everyone supposedly healthy.
No question he wasn’t going to get much use. I simply think your seeming expectations of him as an OF are on the high side.
Utility simply means he can be put in multiple positions, not that he can provide average or even replacement-level value at all of them. Playing a bit of OF doesn’t make him one except in the official records sense, in which case I assume you consider him a pitcher too.
Tough night in the field for him…following that up with a DFA. Although I get the move, I feel a little bad for the guy.
Tolleson is just the kind of guy Dan Duquette stockpiles at AAA like cord wood. Then again, at age 31, if I were Tolleson, I might start to think about what I want to do when I grow up.
I’m sad to see Tolleson go. He should get new work pretty quickly…. he has a lot to offer a team in need of a bench infielder.