The Toronto Blue Jays acquired a switch-hitting bat and catching help for the 2016 stretch run. General manager Ross Atkins announced on Friday that the team had acquired catcher Dioner Navarro from the Chicago White Sox. This trade occurred after Navarro successfully cleared waivers, as are the MLB rules after the August 1st deadline.
Dioner Navarro is Back in Toronto
Navarro rejoins the Blue Jays, the team he played for over the last two seasons. In 2014 and 2015, he hit a combined .267/.315/.390 with 17 home runs and 89 RBIs in 193 games played. He signed a one-year deal with the Chicago White Sox this year, but is hittting just .210/.267/.339 in 85 games.
Navarro was Marco Estrada‘s personal catcher last season. Estrada is happy to see him return.
“He’s a great human being, a great teammate,” Estrada told the Toront Star. “We’re all very excited. He obviously did a lot for us last year. We’re happy he’s going to be part of our crew again.
“I’m very fortunate to have three guys that I can count on back there. Obviously at certain times they need a break. They’re not always going to be able to catch me on certain days. Luckily I feel extremely confident with all three of them. I’m excited to have them all here.”
Colton Turner
In return for Navarro, Toronto surrendered minor-league left-handed pitcher Colton Turner, the team’s 21st round pick in 2012. Turner, 25, has a 1.33 ERA in 44 games this season across three levels with 70 strikeouts in 54 innings. He was most recently with the Blue Jays double-A affiliate, and has been assigned to the same level by the White Sox.
“Ever since he got back (from pitching in Australia), he seems to have hit his stride well,” Chicago general manager Rick Hahn said. “Fastball/slider mix, good command.
“You can obviously see from the numbers he has done impressive work against righties for a left-handed reliever, which is nice to see.
“We’re going to wait to get to know him better. He’s had a real nice year and we like the stuff, we like the command and we’ll see if he’s able to continue to build on what he has done this year and try to figure out that more in 2017, the role he’ll play going forward.”
