Ex-Blue Jays: A summary of off-season transactions

Left-hander Ryan Borucki has signed a minor league deal with the Chicago Cubs

February 20, 2023

By Kevin Glew

Cooperstowners in Canada

All Toronto Blue Jays fans know by now that Teoscar Hernandez was traded to the Seattle Mariners.

They’re also well aware that Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and catching prospect Gabriel Moreno were dealt to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Daulton Varsho.

But what about those less-talked about former Blue Jays that quietly signed minor league deals or contracts to play in the foreign ranks this off-season?

These are the players I probably spend too much time wondering about. But it also explains why I’ve dedicated a lot of time this off-season to documenting all of the transactions that I could find that involve ex-Blue Jays, no matter their resume.

This is a work in progress, but here’s my list so far:

LHP Andrew Albers (North Battleford, Sask.) will pitch for Canada in the World Baseball Classic. He didn’t pitch in 2022.

C J.P. Arencibia has been hired to be the bench coach of the New York Mets’ triple-A Syracuse Mets.

RHP Phillippe Aumont (Gatineau, Que.), who made five appearances for the Blue Jays’ triple-A Buffalo Bisons in 2015, will pitch for Canada in the World Baseball Classic.

RHP John Axford (Port Dover, Ont.) will pitch for Canada in the World Baseball Classic. He didn’t pitch in 2022.

LHP Anthony Banda has signed a minor league deal with the Washington Nationals.

C Rod Barajas, who played for the Blue Jays in 2008 and 2009, has been named the Miami Marlins field coordinator.

OF Jesse Barfield has been elected to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.

RHP Danny Barnes has served as an assistant coach with the New York Mets since the start of the 2022 season.

RHP Jacob Barnes has signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers.

INF Franklin Barreto, who was traded by the Blue Jays to the A’s as part of the Josh Donaldson deal in November 2014, has signed a minor league deal with the Washington Nationals.

RHP Jeremy Beasley was released by the Pittsburgh Pirates and is a free agent.

RHP Tyler Beede, who was selected by the Blue Jays in the first round in 2011 but never signed with them, has signed a one-year deal with the Yomiuri Giants of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball circuit.

LHP Ryan Borucki has signed a minor league deal with the Chicago Cubs.

LHP Denis Boucher (Lachine, Que.) has been elected to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.

LHP Matthew Boyd has signed a one-year deal, $10-million contract with the Detroit Tigers.

Executive Dana Brown has been named GM of the Houston Astros. He was a special assistant to the GM for the Blue Jays from 2010 to 2018.

INF Homer Bush, who played with the Blue Jays from 1999 to 2002, has been named manager of the Staten Island Ferryhawks of the independent Atlantic League.

OF Melky Cabrera, who played for the Blue Jays in 2013 and 2014, has officially announced his retirement.

INF Miguel Cairo has been hired as the New York Mets minor league roving infielder instructor.

RHP Anthony Castro has signed a minor league deal with the Washington Nationals.

RHP Miguel Castro has signed a one-year, $3.5-million deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks. The deal includes a $5 million option for 2024 if he makes 60 appearances in 2023 and clears a physical at the end of the season, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

RHP Tyler Chatwood has signed a minor league deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

RHP Jesse Chavez has signed a minor league deal with the Atlanta Braves. The deal will pay him $1.2 million if he cracks the big league roster, per Mark Bowman of MLB.com.

INF/OF Howie Clark, who played with the Blue Jays in 2003, 2004 and 2007, has been hired as the hitting coach of the triple-A Memphis Redbirds.

C Zach Collins was outrighted off the Pittsburgh Pirates roster and is a free agent. On February 9, he signed a minor league contract with the Washington Nationals.

OF Jonathan Davis has been signed to a minor league contract by the Detroit Tigers and invited to big league spring training.

C Kellin Deglan (Langley, B.C.), who played 52 games in triple-A Buffalo for the Blue Jays in 2021 and 2022, will play for Canada at the World Baseball Classic.

LHP Matt Dermody has been signed to a minor league contract by the Boston Red Sox.

INF Aledmys Diaz has signed a two-year, $14.5-million contract with the Oakland A’s.

OF Corey Dickerson has a signed a one-year, $2.25-million deal with the Washington Nationals. The deal includes performance bonus that could push it to $3 million, per Mark Feinsand, of the MLB Network.

INF/OF Brandon Drury has signed a two-year, $17-million deal with the Los Angeles Angels.

INF Mariano Duncan has been hired to be the bench coach of the New York Mets’ triple-A Binghamton Rumble Ponies.

RHP Danny Farquhar, who pitched in three games in 2011 for the Jays, has been named pitching coach of the Chicago White Sox double-A Birmingham Barons.

LHP Jake Fishman, who the Blue Jays selected in the 30th round of the 2016 MLB draft, has signed a minor league deal with the Oakland A’s.

RHP Wilmer Font has signed a minor league deal with the San Diego Padres.

OF Ben Francisco has been named Los Angeles Angels minor league outfield and baserunning coach.

LHP Matt Gage was claimed off waivers by the Houston Astros.

INF Ryan Goins has signed a minor league contract with the Kansas City Royals.

C-1B Ryan Gold, a 27^th round pick by the Blue Jays in 2016, has signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers.

LHP Anthony Gose, a converted outfielder, has re-signed with the Cleveland Guardians on a two-way minor league contract.

RHP Mauro “Goose” Gozzo will return for his third season as manager of the Atlantic League’s Gastonia Honey Hunters.

OF Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and C Gabriel Moreno were traded to the Arizona Diamonbacks for outfielder Daulton Varsho.

INF Adeiny Hechavarria has signed a minor league deal with the Atlanta Braves.

C Tyler Heineman was released by the Pittsburgh Pirates and then re-signed to a minor league deal by the club.

OF Teoscar Hernandez has been traded to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for reliever Erik Swanson and minor league pitching prospect Adam Macko (Stony Plain, Alta.).

3B Eric Hinske has been named assistant hitting coach of the New York Mets.

1B/OF Tim Hyers, who was selected in the second round of the 1990 MLB draft by the Blue Jays, has been named hitting coach of the Texas Rangers.

LHP Anthony Kay was claimed off waivers by the Chicago Cubs, but was then designated for assignment when the club signed Trey Mancini. He has since cleared waivers and has been assigned to the triple-A Iowa Cubs.

INF Nash Knight, who spent six seasons in the Blue Jays’ organization from 2015 to 2021, was released by the Minnesota Twins and is a free agent.

INF/OF Jake Lamb, who played 12 games for the Blue Jays in 2021, has signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Angels.

RHP Derek Law has re-signed with the Cincinnati Reds on a minor league deal.

LHP/OF Adam Loewen (Surrey, B.C.) will pitch for Canada in the World Baseball Classic. He hasn’t played professionally since 2018.

LHP Zach Logue, a Blue Jays’ ninth round pick in 2017, was claimed on waivers by the Detroit Tigers and then outrighted to triple-A. He has been invited to Tigers’ MLB spring training.

C Luke Maile has signed a one-year, $1.75-million contract with the Cincinnati Reds.

OF Jake Marisnick, a Blue Jays’ third round pick in 2009, has signed a minor league deal with the Chicago White Sox.

1B Fred McGriff was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

OF/1B Billy McKinney has signed a minor league contract with the New York Yankees.

Former Blue Jays coach John McLaren has been named manager of the Appalachian League Bluefield Ridge Runners, who are a summer collegiate baseball team.

RHP Julian Merryweather was claimed off waivers by the Chicago Cubs.

LHP Tommy Milone has signed a minor league deal with the Seattle Mariners.

Former manager Charlie Montoyo has been named bench coach of the Chicago White Sox.

LHP Brian Moran, who appeared in two games for the Blue Jays in 2020, has signed a minor league contract with the Atlanta Braves.

C Julio Mosquera, who played 11 games for the Blue Jays in 1996 and 1997, has been named the Chicago White Sox catching coordinator.

RHP Patrick Murphy has signed a minor league contract with the Minnesota Twins.

INF Jayson Nix has been named Los Angeles Angels assistant field coordinator.

1B/OF Ryan Noda, a Blue Jays’ 15^th round pick in 2017, was selected by the Oakland A’s from the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Rule 5 draft.

LHP Sean Nolin has signed a minor league contract with the Minnesota Twins.

LHP Daniel Norris has signed a minor league contract with the Cincinnati Reds.

OF Josh Palacios was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates from the Washington Nationals in the Rule 5 draft.

LHP Thomas Pannone has signed a minor league deal with the Milwaukee Brewers.

RHP Joel Payamps was traded from the Oakland A’s to the Milwaukee Brewers as part of a three-way trade. More details on his Baseball Reference page.

RHP David Phelps has announced his retirement.

OF Kevin Pillar has signed a minor league contract with the Atlanta Braves.

INF Nick Podkul, a seventh round pick of the Blue Jays in 2018, has signed a minor league contract with the Philadelphia Phillies.

OF Dalton Pompey (Mississauga, Ont.) has announced his retirement.

C Quillermo Quiroz has been named manager of the Chicago White Sox class-A Winston-Salem Dash.

RHP Sean Reid-Foley has re-signed with the New York Mets on a minor league deal.

3B Scott Rolen was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame

RHP Aaron Sanchez has resigned with the Minnesota Twins on a minor league contract.

INF Travis Shaw has announced his retirement.

RHP Graham Spraker, a Blue Jays’ 31st round pick who spent six seasons in the organization, has signed a minor league contract with the Tampa Bay Rays.

RHP Ross Stripling has signed a two-year, $25-million contract with the San Francisco Giants.

RHP Noah Syndergaard, who was selected 38^th overall by the Blue Jays in the 2010 MLB draft, has signed a one-year, $13-million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

OF Raimel Tapia has signed a minor league contract with the Boston Red Sox.

RHP Curtis Taylor (Port Coquitlam, B.C.) was released by the Washington Nationals and is currently a free agent.

OF Eric Thames has announced his retirement.

RHP Ty Tice has signed a minor league contract with the Atlanta Braves.

3B Gio Urshela was traded to the Los Angeles Angels by the Minnesota Twins for right-hander Alejandro Hidalgo.

RHP Cesar Valdez, who made seven appearances for the Blue Jays in 2017, has re-signed with the Los Angeles Angels on a minor league deal.

INF Kevin Vicuna, who played six seasons in the Blue Jays’ organization from 2015 to 2021, has signed a minor league contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

LHP Frank Viola will return for his second season as pitching coach of the Atlantic League’s High Point Rockers.

RHP Marcus Walden, a Blue Jays’ ninth-round pick in 2007, was released by the Milwaukee Brewers.

RHP Taijuan Walker, who made six starts for the Blue Jays in 2020, has signed a four-year, $72-million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies.

OF Forrest Wall, who played parts of three seasons in the Blue Jays’ organization from 2018 to 2021, has signed a minor league contract with the Atlanta Braves.

INF/OF Logan Warmoth, who was a Blue Jays’ first-round pick in 2017, was selected by the Seattle Mariners in the second round of the Rule 5 draft.

OF Brad Wilkerson, who played 85 games with the Blue Jays in 2008, has been named assistant hitting coach of the New York Yankees.

RHP T.J. Zeuch has signed a minor league contract with the Colorado Rockies.

OF Bradley Zimmer has signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

***

Read my list of ex-Toronto Blue Jays transactions prior to the start of the 2022 season here.