Blue Jays Sign Blanco; Designate Hottovy

Jul. 27, 2012; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Henry Blanco (12) against New York Mets at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Hilderbrand-USA TODAY SportsWell, the Tommy Hottovy experiment last less than 24 hours for the Blue Jays as the left-handed reliever was designated for assignment on Friday. Hottovy had been claimed off waivers by Toronto on Thursday.

Hottovy’s short-held roster spot was freed up in order to make room for catcher Henry Blanco, who was signed on Friday.The 41-year old backstop signed a one-year, non-guaranteed contract with Toronto worth $750K.

Blanco is a 15-year veteran of major league baseball, primarily as a back-up catcher. Should he make the opening day roster, which is a long-shot with J.P. Arencibia and Josh Thole likely guaranteed roster spots, the Blue Jays will then become Blanco’s tenth club, and only his second in the American League.

In 921 games, Blanco holds a lifetime batting average of .227 with 69 home runs, and a career OPS of .658. He is coming off a 2012 campaign that saw him appear in just 21 games with the Diamondbacks, spending most of the season on the disabled list with a thumb injury. Blanco had only appeared in more than 100 games twice in his career, in 2001 with Milwaukee and 2004 with the Twins.

Expect the Blue Jays to try and pass him through waivers at some point in the next few weeks, giving Toronto some roster flexibility in order to continue to play this chess game throughout the winter.