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.
Who the hell is that?
Payton Henry
Who the hell is that
Payton Henry
Not Ohtani
Who?
MIKE JONES
Not quite Ohtani
Easy there Ross, don’t blow the whole budget on this move.
Hopefully they deferred his payments so we can complete for years to come.
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?
Agreed
Right? I just muted all the nonsense replies and yours was the only one left standing 🙂
Finally. Someone signs with Toronto.
Boy, it’s just like they said. Once Ohtani signs the flood gates are opened.
Everyone thought the Ohtani thing would open the floodgates but this is the move that does.
Bellinger, Snell, Yamamtoto, Harper Extension, ALL happening within the next 18-24hrs now!
I feel ur pain bluejays fans I really do … The redsox got their thumbs up there butts ..
Who the heck is that
Miss on Ohtani and make up for it by signing Payton Henry. Even Steven!
Jays throw their counter punch
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.
Right there with ya, Mickey. Gotta laugh to dull the pain.
Oh so THAT’S who was on the plane.
Zero confidence in ShapieRo and his carry on baggage AssKiss…
Tossed out nearly 40% of runners in the minors. Not a bad pickup. Danny Jansen has yet to prove he can stay healthy.
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.
It’s not asking for much to play more than 86 games like he hasn’t done the last 3 seasons.
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.
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?