Munenori Kawasaki close to Minors Deal with Blue Jays?

With Blue Jays fans losing one fan favorite to retirement, John McDonald, it would appear that another could be making his return. Munenori Kawasaki may be close to signing a minor league deal with the Blue Jays. After the Blue Jays’ saga with Takashi Toritani ended with the player staying in Japan, we’re getting word that there is interest in Kawasaki.

Here’s how this came to our attention:

Which leads to this:

This takes you to Sponichi Annex, a Japanese publication. With the interesting help of Google Translate, we read that the Blue Jays are “close” on a minor league contract with an invitation to big league camp. If we set aside the very limited and not exact translation that Google provides (which may be difficult considering the funny terms that arise) we see a deal that may not surprise very many.

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At 33 years old, Kawasaki has a few more years of baseball left in him. In the fall it was thought that he would return to his native Japan to play ball if he didn’t get an acceptable MLB offer. It isn’t clear that a minor league offer is “acceptable” to the infielder, though. If we consider the past couple years, perhaps Kawasaki knows what we all know: a minor league deal doesn’t really mean he won’t see playing time at Rogers Centre. Let’s be honest. In the run of a season, he sees plenty of playing time. In 2013, he got into 96 games and last season it was 82.

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The bulk of his time was spent at second base, which remains an area of concern for this club as the season quickly approaches. This deal would not exactly address that concern. It may provide some insurance, though. Obviously, the Blue Jays will not be looking for him to play over half a season at the big league level. But, he does provide infield defensive depth and an approach at the plate that the likes of Ryan Goins would do well to emulate. Likely, if this deal goes down, Kawasaki will end up in Buffalo.

This signing, while minor, would certainly be welcome by Blue Jays fans. Kawasaki has played (and performed) his way into the hearts of many. It seems odd, but Blue Jays fans have a soft spot for guys who work hard but do not put up huge numbers. However, Kawasaki also provides quirky entertainment that may help to keep this clubhouse loose…if that is a concern. See evidence below:

This may not be the impact signing rumor fans were hoping for, but it is one that will have us smiling.