Minor MLB Transactions: 4/4/16

Here are the latest minor moves from around the league…

• The Blue Jays outrighted Jesus Montero and Junior Lake to Triple-A Buffalo over the weekend, as MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm writes. Both were picked up by Toronto on waivers, and each went unclaimed after the Jays again ran them through waivers shortly thereafter, allowing Toronto to retain the pair despite both being out of minor league options. Montero, of course, was formerly one of baseball’s elite prospects in his Yankees days, and he went to Seattle in the now-lopsided Michael Pineda swap. The catcher-turned-first-baseman has yet to hit much in the Majors and was waived by Seattle this spring, though he could emerge as a nice platoon option in Toronto at the very least. At 26, it’s not out of the question that he could still emerge as a productive bat. (Toronto has had its share of success in late-blooming right-handed sluggers, after all.) Lake, meanwhile, enjoyed a strong rookie season with the Cubs in 2013 when he hit .284/.332/.428 in 254 plate appearances. However, the outfielder has batted just .209/.244/.345 in 410 PAs since that time. Like Montero, he’s 26 years of age and will hope for a shot at establishing himself in the hitter-friendly confines of Toronto’s Rogers Centre at some point this season.
• The Twins released left-hander Aaron Thompson out of minor league camp at the end of Spring Training, as Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press writes. The 29-year-old Thompson broke camp with Minnesota in 2015 and wound up tallying 32 1/3 innings as a member of the Twins bullpen. However, after allowing one run in his first 11 innings (buoyed by an unsustainable .129 BABIP), Thompson logged a 7.17 ERA over 21 1/3 subsequent innings through mid-July before ultimately being sent down and outrighted. He’d re-signed with the Twins on a minor league deal this winter and will now look for a club in need of some left-handed ’pen depth, presumably.