Blue Jays Claim Nick Raposo From Cardinals

The Blue Jays announced that they have claimed catcher Nick Raposo off waivers from the Cardinals and optioned him to Triple-A Buffalo. The backstop was designated for assignment earlier this week when the Cards completed their three-team trade with the Dodgers and White Sox. The Jays had multiple open roster spots from their own deadline dealings and their 40-man roster count is now at 37.

Raposo, 26, was selected to the Cardinal roster in June when both Iván Herrera and Willson Contreras were on the injured list, leaving Pedro Pagés atop the club’s depth chart. But Contreras was reinstated from the IL a couple of days later and Raposo was optioned before getting into a major league game.

The backstop went unselected in the shortened five-round draft in 2020 and then signed with the Cards as an undrafted free agent. He was plugged onto their Double-A team and hit well at that level, but then struggled after getting bumped to Triple-A. He currently holds a batting line of .268/.348/.424 at Double-A but a line of .206/.276/.355 at Triple-A.

Raposo has never been a highly-touted prospect but the Jays could use the catching depth. They traded Danny Jansen to the Red Sox prior to the deadline and are now left with Alejandro Kirk and Brian Serven as the only catchers on their 40-man roster. Raposo gives them another option at Triple-A to be called upon when necessary. He has a full slate of options and almost no service time, so he could be part of their catching depth for a long time if he continues to hang onto a roster spot.