AUG. 30: Thole has cleared waivers and elected free agency, the team told reporters, including Brendan Kennedy of the Toronto Star (Twitter link). Kennedy adds that Thole is likely to be re-signed quickly, which would make sense in the event that the organization wants to keep him as depth and for a potential postseason spot in the event of an injury to Martin or Navarro.
AUG. 28: The Blue Jays placed catcher Josh Thole on irrevocable waivers following Sunday’s game, Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star reports. The newly-acquired Dioner Navarro will be activated on Monday to take Thole’s spot on the 25-man roster. Thole will become property of any team that claims him within the 48-hour waiver period, and if he goes unclaimed, he will be released. It should be noted that is different from the standard August waiver process, as those waivers are revocable; Griffin reports that Thole cleared those waivers earlier this month.
Griffin suspects the Jays have a verbal agreement in place with Thole to re-sign the veteran backstop once rosters expand on September 1, and in time for Thole to be behind the plate for R.A. Dickey’s next start. Thole has almost exclusively served as Dickey’s personal catcher since both players came to Toronto prior to the 2013 season. It’s not a stretch to say that Thole’s ability to catch the knuckleball has been the only thing keeping him on the Jays roster and perhaps in the majors as a whole given his poor hitting — Thole entered today’s action with just a .199/.275/.248 slash line over 465 PA as a Blue Jay. Baseball Prospectus rates Thole as an above-average pitch framer, though StatCorner considers him to be a below-average defender on the whole.
Some type of shift to Toronto’s catching depth chart was imminent once the Jays traded for Navarro on Friday. It is possible that one of the Jays’ AL rivals could claim Thole simply to prevent him from returning to the team, though that rival would have to use one of its own 25-man roster spots for Thole over the next couple of days.
If Thole does re-sign with the Blue Jays under the scenario Griffin outlined, he wouldn’t be eligible for postseason play since he’d be joining the team in September. Navarro’s acquisition, however, pretty much closed on the door on any chance Thole had of making the playoff roster anyway. Thole wasn’t included on the Jays’ postseason roster in 2015 when Russell Martin caught both of Dickey’s starts. Given that the Jays will again have a six-man rotation when Aaron Sanchez returns, Dickey himself may not be a lock to make the postseason roster.
toronto fans finally get what they want
I think the players get what they want as well.
Bad week for personal catchers…
I know, right?
I wonder of Boston will claim Thole for when their knuckleballer Wright starts. Why wouldn’t they want to throw a small wrench into the Jays operations?
Force Martin or Navarro to catch dickey a few times, maybe lose key games..
good idea
Mets? Indians?
Thole would be a downgrade from what the Mets have
I somewhat agree but id rather have the Thole/Rivera combo. Travis has just done nothing. And true to the Mets the minute we lose him he will be an All Star lol
Red Sox for Wright?
Is dickey next??
No, nor should he be.
Happ
Sanchez
Stroman
Estrada
Liriano
Bye, bye 200+ innings of suck
200 innings is 200 innings. I wouldn’t put him on the playoff roster unless there’s an injury, but they’ll need him to get through September. If nothing else he’s useful as a long reliever to keep the pen fresh, and as a 6th starter to keep Sanchez’s innings down.
DFA’ing him would be pretty useless right now.
I don’t get this, all they had to do was carry him for 4 more days until rosters expand. Sure there won’t be many teams who want him, but why risk Boston claiming him to catch wright? The only way this makes sense is if they know he’s going to clear waivers, and since dickey won’t be on the postseason roster, the ineligibility won’t be an issue
I believe they had to make a move to add Navarro right? They need him on the roster on Aug 31, but don’t need Thole. Carrying 3 catchers would be a hassle with their 6 man rotation (Sanchez is coming back shortly).
What 40 man roster adjustments will the Blue Jays have to make that will allow Thole to be added back to the ML roster if he indeed were to resign?
All this bs for a terrible personal catcher for the most over rated cy young winner in mlb history. I hope they don’t re-sign him and tell Dickey to pound sand this summer.
Your nuts to not like Dickey. I’d take him back in a heartbeat. The guy is a pro who gives you innings. You’re in no position to toss Dickey to the side when all you depend upon Marco Estrada and Francisco Liriano. And, if you think J.A. Happ is the real deal, you are in for a rude awakening next year.
Happs been good for over a year now, and Estradas just had recent struggles. We’re fine for pitching
He is trash. Good riddance to bad rubbish. Just like Hutchinson last year, he will not be on the post season roster.
If they release and re-sign Thole to a minor league contract by Wednesday, wouldn’t he still be eligible for a post-season slot? He’d be with the organization on August 31.. The story about Mat Latos’s modified deal points out that he would be eligible for the Nationals post-season roster even though he won’t be called up until Thursday. Latos is on a minor league deal now.and that article say nothing about the Nats adding him to the 40-man roster before Thursday., and I don’t think they need to. A minor leaguer within the organization should be post-season eligible even if he is not on the 40-man roster on August 31.
Right. That’s what I’m not understanding about Griffin’s argument. He doesn’t need to be on the 40 man by 09/01. If they’re going to sign him to a major league contract after 09/01, they’ll need an available 40 man spot anyways. If he’s claimed, that’s another story, but he went unclaimed within the last few weeks, so no reason to expect that to happen. I don’t see why they don’t just outright him until 09/01 and then repurchase his contract if they want him so badly
Steve Adams’s article today about Kyle Lobstein being DFA’d after being acquired by the O’s points out that he will be eligible for the post-season if he remains with Baltimore are clearing waivers. If Thole re-signs with the Jays today, he should be eligible as well. I think Mark Polishuk’s reference to Thole not being post-season eligible applies only if he re-signs after August 31..
You have to be on or added to the 40 man roster to play in the major leagues.
Indians should have claimed him.