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Jays ink quartet to Minors contracts. Barrett, Chavez, Maroth and Ruiz score Spring Training invites

TORONTO — The Blue Jays continued to add depth to their roster on Tuesday, signing four players to Minor League contracts with invitations to Spring Training. Toronto inked catchers Michael Barrett and Raul Chavez, as well as infielder Randy Ruiz and left-hander Mike Maroth. Barrett and Chavez will likely compete for the backup job behind [...]

Barrett invited to Jays camp. Veteran catcher eyes fresh start after injury-riddled ’08

After laboring through an injury-plagued season in 2008, Michael Barrett is looking to make a fresh start next season with the Blue Jays. On Monday, the 32-year-old catcher reached agreement with the Blue Jays on a Minor League deal with an invitation to Spring Training, MLB.com has confirmed. Barrett dealt with an injury to his [...]

Gaston’s arrival signals change for Jays. Skipper gets club back on track to close out 2008 campaign

TORONTO — The Blue Jays are hoping that the key to their future resides in their past. Expectations were never higher for the club during the past year, so when things began to go awry, Toronto looked to its success in the previous decade for aid. The return of Cito Gaston marked the signature moment [...]

Jays’ Barajas stays busy at Christmas. As father of six, catcher is in charge of wrapping gifts for family

Rod Barajas is entering his second season as the Blue Jays' starting catcher. During the winter, Barajas happily trades in life behind the plate for a busy life at home with his wife and six children. Barajas recently took a timeout from wrapping a pile of presents to talk about the holiday season with MLB.com. [...]

Jays not surprised at Teixeira deal. GM Ricciardi says Jays will not pursue any high-profile free agents

TORONTO — Nothing the Yankees do surprises Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi anymore. Over the years, he's witnessed plenty of offseason spending sprees by New York to know it's simply a part of life in the American League East. So, Ricciardi hardly flinched at Tuesday's news that the Yankees had reached an agreement with [...]

Halos, not Brewers, get Yanks’ top pick. Milwaukee now gets New York’s second-round pick

No one likes to lose a Major Leaguer to free agency. But at least there's the consolation of draft pick compensation for losing players of a certain quality. Generally speaking, a team that loses a Type A free agent can do as well as getting a first-round pick (from the team that signed the aforementioned [...]

Mench signs with team in Japan.

Former Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Kevin Mench signed a one-year deal with the Hanshin Tigers on Wednesday. The 30-year-old Mench hit .243 in 51 games for Toronto last season. He has a career batting average of .269 with 89 homers and 330 RBI in 702 major league games with the Blue Jays, Texas Rangers and [...]

Mailbag: McGowan set for start of ’09?. Beat reporter Jordan Bastian answers Jays fans’ questions

Is there any chance that Blue Jays starter Dustin McGowan will be recovered and ready for the start of the 2009 season? Will he be at Spring Training? –Rob S., Sudbury, Ontario McGowan, who had season-ending surgery on his right shoulder in July, will indeed be at Spring Training, and he's already started his throwing [...]

Bautista heating up in winter ball. Toronto utility player rebounds from slow start in Dominican

TORONTO — After a slow start to the winter ball season, Blue Jays utilityman Jose Bautista has been warming up at the plate for Tigres del Licey in the Dominican Republic. Over 12 games in the Dominican Winter Baseball League, Bautista has hit just .195, but his average has been rising steadily of late. The [...]

Cabrera drawing interest from Jays. Right-hander an intriguing possibility for Toronto’s rotation

TORONTO — The Blue Jays continue to search for affordable rotation help this offseason, and that includes looking to the list of pitchers who were not offered contracts and became free agents on Friday. Daniel Cabrera, who was non-tendered by Baltimore after spending the past five seasons as a starter for the Orioles, is one [...]