The Blue Jays outrighted Michael Stefanic off their 40-man roster and assigned the infielder to Triple-A Buffalo after Stefanic cleared waivers, in keeping with Sportsnet’s Arden Zwelling. Stefanic had the chance to elect free company since he has been beforehand outrighted in his profession, however he as an alternative selected to stay in Toronto’s group.
After signing a minor league cope with the Jays again in November, Stefanic had his contract chosen to the MLB roster in early Might since Toronto wished extra infield depth within the wake of Andres Gimenez’s quad pressure. Stefanic appeared in 9 video games for the Blue Jays and hit .182/.280/.182 over 25 plate appearances earlier than he was designated for project earlier this week, because the Jays wanted roster room to accommodate Gimenez’s return from the 10-day injured checklist.
The 29-year-old Stefanic has hit solely .227/.314/.267 throughout 289 profession PA within the majors over the past 4 seasons, with most of that have coming with the Angels earlier than his Blue Jays stint this 12 months. Whereas recognized extra for his defensive versatility than his bat, Stefanic has an eye-opening .344/.436/.468 slash line in 1561 profession plate appearances on the Triple-A stage.
Since this sizzling hitting within the minors has but to translate to a lot success in opposition to MLB pitching, Stefanic could have felt extra snug staying with the Jays reasonably than testing a doubtlessly unsure free agent market. His removing from the 40-man roster will make a future call-up barely trickier from a transactional standpoint, plus the Jays may additionally flip to Will Wagner, Orelvis Martinez, or Leo Jimenez (who’re all on the 40-man) within the occasion of one other infield emptiness on the energetic roster.
