Blue Jays should cut ties with Salty and promote Ohlman

The Toronto Blue Jays are searching for answers as a roster shake-up looms in the near future, perhaps cutting ties with Jarrod Saltalamacchia in favor of Mike Ohlman is a small move the Jays should consider as “Salty” has looked old beyond his years thus far in 2017.

The Blue Jays are somewhat snakebitten in the overall production the team has received from their secondary backstops over the past few seasons. The likes of Josh Thole and more recently Jarrod Saltalamacchia have hindered the Jays offensive production.

It has become very apparent that Saltalamacchia’s best days are a thing of the distant past. The catcher is batting 0.40 in 11 contests thus far and appears lost at the plate. Salty has struck out 16 times in 25 at bats registering a mere single with the Jays.

Nobody honestly expected much from Salty in terms of batting average but we all thought he was still good for a few long balls before he hung them up. Even defensively, teams are picking him apart behind the plate as the 31-year old has yet to throw out a baserunner this season.

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You don’t mind sacrificing some of the lumber if the backup is an above average defender and can control the running game. The disappointing start is handcuffing the Blue Jays skipper in resting his starter Russell Martin who requires frequent maintenance days due to his aggressive style of play day-in-day-out.

The Jays have 26-year old Mike Ohlman chomping at the bit to make his major league debut. Ohlman is currently batting .220 with 4 home runs in 15 games with the Bisons. However, last season Ohlman hit .287 while swatting 7 homers in 78 games with the St. Louis Cardinals affiliate.

The Jays also dealt catcher Juan Graterol to the Los Angeles Angels earlier in the week in an unexpected move for future considerations. Graterol was summoned by the Angels and suited up versus the Blue Jays the last series.

The Jays have prospects Reese McGuire and Max Pentecost down on the farm with more potential than Ohlman but the two farm hands are further down the depth chart due to their service time in the minors.

Next: Blue Jays Interview with Bradley Jones

The switch is not going to save the season but it may be a small move in a cluster of transactions that shakes up the boys and alters the fate of the 2017 campaign.