Its no secret that the Toronto Blue Jays were looking for an upgrade at the catcher position this offseason. It appears that they have found one, with Jon Heyman of Foxsports reporting that the team has agreed to a 2-year $8 million contract with free agent and former Chicago Cubs catcher Dioner Navarro.
The 29-year-old Navarro is a switch-hitter who hit .300/.365/.492 with 13 home runs and 34 RBIs in 89 games for the Cubs last season. He was a major league all-star in 2008, but struggled from 2010-12 before his resurgence in 2013.
It would appear that Navarro will be the Blue Jays starting catcher next season, with Josh Thole in a back-up role (and as the knuckleball catcher for R.A. Dickey). The move means that the future of incumbent Jays catcher, J.P. Arencibia is very much up in the air.
Arencibia had a disastrous 2013 season with a .197/.224/.365 slash line, despite hitting 21 home runs. He had 148 strikeouts and just 18 walks, as well as feuds with the Toronto media including Gregg Zaun and Dirk Hayhurst.
Thanks for reading. Feel free to leave your comments below, You can follow our baseball department on twitter @sellmyhomemike, @nvincelli, @yankeefever2011, @tonytalkssports, @LWOS_ Sibo, @purplerocktober, and @lastwordmatt. You can also follow the site while you are at it – @lastwordonsport and like our Facebook Page.
Interested in writing for LastWordOnSports? If so, check out our “Join Our Team” page to find out how.
