Blue Jays To Sign Chris Heisey

The Blue Jays and outfielder Chris Heisey have agreed to a minor league contract, reports Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. The 30-year-old Sosnick, Cobbe & Karon client was recently released by the Dodgers. He’ll report to Triple-A Buffalo for the Blue Jays, where he’ll be assessed as a potential bench option for the Jays.

Heisey received just 34 plate appearances with the Dodgers in 2015 after coming over from the Reds in exchange for right-hander Matt Magill. Heisey spent the bulk of the season at the Triple-A level, where he batted .236/.355/.481 with 14 homers. Prior to his brief time with the Dodgers, Heisey spent parts of five seasons in Cincinnati, serving as a high quality part-time player for much of his tenure. He had a poor year in 2014, but from 2010-13, Heisey slashed .254/.308/.433. He was particularly impressive at the plate in an 18-homer 2011 campaign.

Though Heisey hits right-handed, he’s showed a reverse platoon split throughout his career. His power and K/BB numbers are virtually identical versus lefties and righties, though, so the reason for his poor production against left-handed pitching may simply be BABIP-related. Heisey has a .309 BABIP against right-handers in his career but just a .251 mark versus left-handers.