The Blue Jays announced on Monday that they’ve signed catcher Michael Ohlman and right-hander Jarrett Grube to minor league contracts and invited the pair to Major League Spring Training.
[Related: Updated Toronto Blue Jays Depth Chart]
Ohlman, 26 next month, has spent his career in the minor league systems of the Orioles and Cardinals. The former 11th-rounder reached Triple-A for the first time last season and turned in a strong performance for the Cardinals’ affiliate in Memphis, hitting .280/.333/.464 with six homers, nine doubles and a couple of triples in 186 plate appearances over the life of 54 games. Ohlman split the year between Double-A and Triple-A, hitting a combined .287/.344/.434. He’s thrown out 26 percent of runners and been about average in terms of framing pitches in the minors (per Baseball Prospectus). Baseball America rated him 30th among Cardinals farmhands last winter and wrote that while he’s large for a catcher at 6’5″, he’s improved enough behind the dish to profile as a backup if he can tap into his above-average raw power. The Jays don’t have a set answer at backup catcher next year, with A.J. Jimenez the current favorite to land that gig. Ohlman will be in the mix to compete for that role in Spring Training, though the Jays could add a more experienced option to back up Russell Martin as the winter progresses.
Grube, who turned 35 this month, has had a 13-year pro career but has reached the Majors in just one season, when he appeared in a single game for the 2014 Angels. Selected by the Rockies in the 10th round of the 2004 draft, Grube has also pitched in the minors for the Mariners and Indians in addition to a pair of indy ball stints with the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs of the Atlantic League. Grube’s overall numbers at the Triple-A level don’t immediately stand out, but he posted an excellent 2.26 ERA in 79 2/3 innings with Cleveland’s Triple-A affiliate in 2015 and a 3.92 ERA in 119 1/3 innings between the Triple-A affiliates for the Indians and Mariners last season. He typically averages just under eight strikeouts per nine innings and a bit less than three walks per nine and has totaled more than 1200 innings as a professional.
I wouldn’t mind seeing the Jays give Jimenez an opportunity to take the back up catcher job. You would think that McGuire would be ready to come up by 2018 and Pentecost not far behind. Couldn’t think of a better teacher/mentor than Russ Martin.
The issue with Jimenez is that he has zero bat whatsoever and that’s always been the big question about him. The Jays have lucked out pretty hard with Martin’s health so far but if he ends up getting hurt, putting Jimenez into an everyday role would be plain ugly, he was DFA’d and outrighted to AAA last spring after clearing waivers despite many teams needing catching depth.
As for Pentecost, I wouldn’t hold my breath on him staying behind the plate. I’d love it if he did because his hitting potential behind the plate could be very valuable. But health is a huge concern at this point and he played all but 1 game at DH this past season. The Jays are easing him back into a catching role in 2017 so we’ll see but he seems likely for a position change.
If Steve or anyone else can answer this for me but does Grube have minor league options left? I’m doubtful due to his age and extensive time in AAA but if he somehow does, I could easily see him occupying the yo-yo role Tepera held in 2016.
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