We’ll track the day’s minor moves here:
- The Blue Jays have added backstop Rafael Lopez on a minors deal, per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca (via Twitter). Lopez, 29, has cracked the bigs twice, making brief stops with the Cubs and Reds. He has spent most of his time in recent years at the Triple-A level, where he owns a .259/.333/.332 batting line over 654 plate appearances. A product of Florida State, Lopez was taken in the 16th round of the 2011 draft. Toronto has already added two depth pieces behind the plate this winter in Juan Graterol and Michael Ohlman, in addition to likely MLB reserve Jarrod Saltalamacchia.
I’m curious to see where Reese McGuire starts the year. He’s one of the best catching prospects in the game, so he’s going to be the starting catcher wherever he goes. It’s not hard to imagine Lopez being down in AA because I don’t think he’ll beat out Graterol for a AAA spot. Nice to have the depth though.
I’d guess Reese starts in AA. He only got into 15 games for New Hampshire after the trade and struggled. No reason to rush him so may as well let him conquer the level properly.
What about Pentecost whatever happened to him
Not really a “catcher” recently due to shoulder surgeries. He DHs exclusively now to keep the bat progressing