Catcher Payton Henry has agreed to a minor league contract with the Blue Jays, he announced on X over the weekend. He’ll presumably receive an invitation to big league camp.
Henry spent the entire 2023 season in Triple-A with the Brewers. Milwaukee had outrighted him off the 40-man roster a couple weeks into the regular season. The Brew Crew had acquired the right-handed hitting backstop from the Marlins last offseason. That marked his second stint with the Milwaukee organization, as Henry had been drafted by the Brewers before being dealt to Miami in a 2021 trade that landed reliever John Curtiss in Wisconsin.
The 26-year-old hit .294/.341/.454 in 65 minor league contests this year. That’s roughly league average offense in a hitter-friendly International League setting. Henry struck out at an average 23.1% clip while walking less than 5% of the time. He has never had great strikeout and walk numbers, but prospect evaluators have credited the former sixth-round pick with strong raw power potential for a depth catcher.
Henry has 20 major league games under his belt split between the 2021 and ’22 seasons in Miami. He’s a .264/.331/.410 hitter in a little under 500 career Triple-A plate appearances. Barring injury, Henry is unlikely to secure a season-opening spot on a Toronto team that rosters Danny Jansen and Alejandro Kirk. The Jays recently lost third catcher Tyler Heineman on waivers, so Henry projects as non-roster depth who can open next year with their top affiliate in Buffalo.
jamesryu14
Who the hell is that?
SweetBabyRayKingsThickThighs
Payton Henry
Yanks2
Who the hell is that
HBan22
Payton Henry
Buzzz Killington
Not Ohtani
Yanks2
Who?
LostRealist
MIKE JONES
DanUgglasRing
Not quite Ohtani
mikey bananas
Easy there Ross, don’t blow the whole budget on this move.
OilCanLloyd
Hopefully they deferred his payments so we can complete for years to come.
Birdieman2
How many more posts are we gonna see telling us someone we never heard of, that won’t make the team, just signed a minor league contract?
Yanks2
Agreed
Kelland
Right? I just muted all the nonsense replies and yours was the only one left standing 🙂
Best Screenname Ever
Finally. Someone signs with Toronto.
solaris602
Boy, it’s just like they said. Once Ohtani signs the flood gates are opened.
James Midway
Everyone thought the Ohtani thing would open the floodgates but this is the move that does.
TrumboRedux
Bellinger, Snell, Yamamtoto, Harper Extension, ALL happening within the next 18-24hrs now!
Bostonsports85
I feel ur pain bluejays fans I really do … The redsox got their thumbs up there butts ..
jamesryu14
Who the heck is that
Assdribble_Cabrera
Miss on Ohtani and make up for it by signing Payton Henry. Even Steven!
Dodger Dog
Jays throw their counter punch
Mickey Solis
I’m genuinely laughing at all the comedy gold in this comments section. While still dying inside about the mega sellout Ohtani going to the Dodgers.
TellItGoodbye
Right there with ya, Mickey. Gotta laugh to dull the pain.
TellItGoodbye
Oh so THAT’S who was on the plane.
GRE
Zero confidence in ShapieRo and his carry on baggage AssKiss…
its_happening
Tossed out nearly 40% of runners in the minors. Not a bad pickup. Danny Jansen has yet to prove he can stay healthy.
KamKid
I don’t think you can count on catchers in general to stay healthy. They are in harm’s way just by playing the position.
its_happening
It’s not asking for much to play more than 86 games like he hasn’t done the last 3 seasons.
KamKid
With minor league signings of catchers, I’m not all that interested in the slash lines, but would really love to know if a guy is well regarded defensively. The article includes prospect evaluators’ thoughts on his offensive profile, but no mention of his defensive ability.
sascoach2003
Why not just bring Rob Brantley back in a player-coach role at Buffalo? He had a good spring, good season with Buffalo until he was released, but most importantly, when he was Manoah’s battery mate in spring and Buffalo, Manoah pitched better. Coincidence?