5:51pm: Catcher Juan Graterol has been designated to clear 40-man space, the club announced. Graterol was claimed just before camp and seemed slated to function as the third catcher. But the Jays recently added Luke Maile through a waiver claim, and he evidently stepped into the top spot on the minor-league depth chart.
3:00pm: The Blue Jays have selected the contract of veteran outfielder/infielder Chris Coghlan, as Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca first reported on Twitter. Coghlan would have been eligible to opt out of his deal at the end of the month, Davidi notes.
Unfortunately, the move was necessitated by the calf injury that felled star third baseman Josh Donaldson. He’s heading to the 10-day DL, though it seems the organization hopes that he won’t require an extended stint. Toronto will also need to clear a 40-man spot.
The Jays will hope that Coghlan can provide a boost against right-handed pitching, as he has done for much of his career. He became available when the Phillies cut him loose late in camp, after Coghlan reportedly declined to sign an advance consent waiver that would’ve allowed the Phils to avoid a full-season guarantee by trimming him from the roster within 45 days of the start of the season.
Instead, Coghlan headed to the open market and landed in Toronto on a new minors deal. The 31-year-old will look to pick up where he left off last year with the Cubs. He slashed .252/.491/.388 in 128 plate appearances with Chicago after struggling earlier in the season for the A’s.
Coghlan is best utilized as a platoon player, as his lifetime OPS splits (.766 vs. righties, .618 vs. lefties) would suggest. He does offer some defensive versatility, though, having lined up at second and third as well as his natural corner outfield in recent years.
He’s worth a shot,considering how anemic the Jay’s bench is.
Agreed, though I feel like calling it anemic is a bit too kind :)
Pagan?
Cubs version of Coghlan is nearly as good as Pagan and won’t cost them much of anything. Pagan seems to still think he’s going to get a big league deal.
“Pagan?”
No, but Coghlan may be a polytheist.
Things getting worse for the jays…
Jeff, Coghlan’s OBP with the Cubs last year was .391. Still great, but not a Bonds-esque .491
I could have sworn I seen that coghlan signed with Philly? Or was that someone else that was with the cubs last year?
I think he signed a minor league contract but was released at the end of spring
mlbtraderumors.com/2017/03/heymans-latest-quintana…