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The Toronto Blue Jays made some notable moves this offseason, including signing Russell Martin to a five-year, $82 million contract in November. The wisdom of signing a 32-year old catcher to that kind of a deal can be questioned, but Toronto also seems to have a bit of a glut at the position with Dioner Navarro still around after a solid 2014 season (.274, 12 home runs and a career-high 69 RBI) as their No. 1 catcher.
Trade speculation has surrounded Navarro throughout the winter, but as spring training gets going he is still with the Blue Jays and general manager Alex Anthopoulos doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to make a move. Greg Chisholm of MLB.com has reported that Navarro asked for a trade “right away” after the Blue Jays signed Martin, and Navarro expressed disappointment that he has not been traded when speaking to reporters in Florida upon reporting for spring training.
Martin will of course be the No. 1 catcher for Toronto, and Josh Thole will again serve as the personal catcher for knuckleballer R.A. Dickey while presumably giving Martin a day off in certain situations. There’s not much room for Navarro to be in the Blue Jays’ lineup regularly with everyone healthy, other than perhaps as a designated hitter, and with some other holes to fill he is a tradeable asset that should not be wasted on the bench.
The Blue Jays lack good, proven options at second base and in center field right now, and depending on their faith in Brett Cecil to fill the role they could still look to add a closer. The American League East looks to be there for the taking this year, so making another move to effectively go all-in can easily be justified.
Leaving aside having to part with any young players or prospects in a trade, Navarro has solid value as a switch-hitting catcher with some pop in his bat (25 home runs over the last two seasons). 2015 is the final year of his contract, as well as his age-31 season, so now may be as good as it gets for Navarro’s trade value. Letting him get stagnant on the bench, likely in no better than a part-time role as long as Martin is healthy, would not do the Blue Jays or Navarro any good.
Brad Berreman is a Columnist/Senior Writer at Rant Sports.com. Follow him on Twitter.
