The Blue Jays have acquired catcher Dioner Navarro from the White Sox, both teams have announced. Lefty Colton Turner is headed back to Chicago in the deal.
Navarro, 32, will return to Toronto, where he had played over 2014-15 before joining the South Siders this winter on a one-year, $4MM deal. He’ll presumably function as both a reserve catcher and bench bat for the Jays, who utilize Russell Martin as their starter behind the dish and also have Josh Thole on hand as a receiver.
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It’s not yet clear how the playing time will shake out, but the switch-hitting Navarro could nudge the left-handed-hitting Thole out of his role as the primary backup — if not off of the roster entirely. Thole owns a meager .151/.246/.198 slash line over his 124 plate appearances on the season. But he is also the personal catcher for knuckler R.A. Dickey, and with the Jays also in need of another bat off of the bench, it’s possible to imagine both players co-existing on Toronto’s 25-man.
While Navarro has been a solid hitter at times in the past — he put up a composite 107 OPS+ over 2013-15 — this hasn’t been his finest season. He is carrying only a .210/.267/.339 batting line with six home runs in his 298 plate appearances on the year for the White Sox.
Still, Navarro brings a sturdy veteran presence to a familiar clubhouse, and won’t cost much in terms of cash to add to the mix. The remainder of his contract will only cost Toronto around $850K. Plus, with roster set to expand within the week, he won’t clog things up too badly and can add flexibility.
In Turner, the Sox will land a 25-year-old southpaw who has shown some promise at times this year. He was dominant at the High-A level, allowing just two earned runs on 19 hits over 31 2/3 innings while generating 13.4 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9. But he has stalled since moving up to Double-A for the first time, where he has been tagged for six earned in 10 1/3 frames with a less-than-stellar 10:8 K/BB ratio.
Was he claimed or did he clear?
love it, great move, they say they need thole as dickey catcher but lets be honest, thole cant catch him any better than anyone else, and navarro can actually hit the ball
Thole will catch Dickey until the end of the year and Dickey and Thole will both be off the playoff roster. Late in the game Navarro or Martin will pinch hit once dickey is out of the game.
Dont think they have to clear for intraleague trades.
Yes they do. A player has to be either claimed and traded or clear waivers entirely and then be traded.
They are both in the same league..
We got Martin and thole makes no sense to have 3 catchers when they need rp
They had Thole Martin and Navarro last year. Thole isnt a major league catcher. Or even AAA catcher. This makes the Jays much better
This. Plus Dickey is the only reason why Thole has a job for the last several seasons dating back to their Mets days.
Odds are beginning to shift that if the Jays make the playoffs, Dickey won’t be part of the rotation. If that’s the case, Thole loses complete usefulness and Navarro is great insurance for a possible Martin injury.
Bruh thole would be lucky to be starting in double a
he cant hit and his defense Is average
So they can give Martin a day off for when he is tired and do not have to worry about thole on the lineup also with Jose getting hurt a lot it’s good to have an extra bat as a dh replacement
Explain how it doesn’t make sense @giombrampton. The roster expands in 5 days and you can have up to 40 players on your team at that time. It also allows dickey and thole to both be left off the playoff roster thereby adding another relief arm or pinch runner for the playoff roster and a better back up catcher. Beyond all of that Navarro is a switch hitter. This makes the absolute best sense.
Not much of a need but they do block Cleveland from getting him and filling a true need, though I’m not sure they even swing a trade in the division.
Nice 4/Man rotation plus Dickey in the pen no one on base could be FUN
Dickey may not start in the playoffs and if that is so then Navarro is an upgrade as a backup catcher for the pitchers who will start (Stroman Happ Estrada Liriano).
Can’t discount the chemistry Navarro and Estrada had last year either. Navarro was often credited for Estrada’s turnaround and with his recent struggles, can’t hurt to have a familiar face catching his next few starts.
Doc’s got a point
Just have to briefly mention how much I love your username.
Surely Aaron Sanchez would start over Liriano in the playoffs right?
Right now, yes. But a lot can happen in a month and we’ll see how Sanchez rebounds when he comes back. Hopefully this little “vacation” can get him back because his last 2 starts, he just wasn’t as crisp as he had been.
It will be Sanchez, happ, Estrada, stroman if they do go that route.
And, the Sox get a guy Rule 5-eligible, that hasn’t been particularly good.
Should have gotten a third-day guy from 2015 instead.
Next stop for the Jays before the end of August is a left handed reliever. Cecil unfortunately is not at all reliable this year and they don’t have much else as a left hander right now.
I think Liriano is that guy come the playoffs
Boone Logan may be availble from colorado
He would certainly get claimed before he got to Toronto
Full marks to Navarro for the manner in which he conducted himself during his previous stint with the Jays. When the Jays signed Martin, effectively eliminating Navarro’s role on the team, Navarro handled the situation with class and a team-centered mindset. For that reason, I’m in Navarro’s corner. Best of luck, DN.
Well said vin
I don’t remember it being quite that rosy. I remember Navarro asking to be traded after they acquired Martin and grousing more than once to the media about his role.
Worst trade ever!! The sox are doomed now. He was the only catcher since Fisk that new what he was doing back there
He’s a horrible pitch framer, sometimes turning strikes into balls. He’s hit 210 so far this season. He’s slow as s—. Yep, he’ll help you get to the WS, Toronto.
He may be your ‘be all, end all’ in Chicago, but he is just a backup catcher in Toronto.
For all that, he’s still better than Thole.
Josh Thole has to be out. He not even hitting as well as the worst hitter in MLB history, Bill Bergen.
I don’t see why R.A. Dickey would be left off the playoff roster. Toronto doesn’t have the quantity of relievers I consider better pitchers then Dickey.
Ryan Madison to Cubs for Joe Smith and Montero as a backup for Perez plus we throw in Cory Black out of options next season. Plus Cubs get 1 million : good Trade for both.
Lol, Ryan Madson doesn’t even play for KC, and you’re on the wrong thread
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