Blue Jays: Minor League Free Agents worth the gamble in 2018

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Baseball America compiled a list of the available Minor League free agents who are all looking for work this offseason. Obviously, these players are not going to be game-changers or someone you should bank the season on however there are some interesting names nestled in the list who could be worth taking a chance on in 2018.

The Toronto Blue Jays have 26 players of their own on the available for worklist including such familiar names like Bo Schultz, Leonel Campos, Blake McFarland, Darrell Ceciliani, Jon Berti and catcher Rafael Lopez to name a few.

Many of these players have toiled in the minors, suffered injuries or did not excel at the major league level when provided the opportunity. There are some once-promising names who could definitely be worth a flyer or provide organizational depth at the Triple-A level next season with the Buffalo Bisons.

The beauty of these guys is they will all probably sign minor league deals with possible invites to spring training in an attempt to impress their new team. They aren’t going to break your 2018 budget and many will only see the majors in the event of an injury or the odd hurler snags a bullpen job out of spring training.

Regardless there are some interesting available talents the Blue Jays could latch onto from this list, here are a few that I thought could provide some upside and appeal to the brain trust this offseason and they round out their minor league rosters.

Oswaldo Arcia- Arizona Diamondbacks

Oswaldo Arcia made his major league debut with the Minnesota Twins in 2013 after signing as an International free agent out of Venezuela. Arcia was ranked 41 in the Baseball America Top 100 Prospect rankings in 2013. He is also the older brother of Milwaukee Brewers shortstop Orlando Arcia.

In his rookie season with the Twins, Arcia hit .251/.304/.430 with 14 home runs in 97 games. His power numbers increased to 20 in 2014, however, his average dropped while his strikeout rate climbed fanning 127 times in 410 plate appearances.

Arcia was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays in 2016 and then became a frequent flyer on the waiver wire being claimed by the Marlins and Padres before signing with the Diamondbacks in the 2016 offseason.

The outfielder never saw the majors in 2017 hitting .326/.410/.623 with 24 homers in Triple-A Reno last season.

Evan Grills- Colorado Rockies

Full disclosure on this one, Evan Grills is from Whitby, Ontario so there may be some hometown bias for this kid but he deserves a chance. Grills was selected in the 10th round of the 2010 amateur draft by the Houston Astros and remained in their minor league system until inking a minor league deal with the Colorado Rockies last offseason.

The 25-year old hurler appears to have put it all together and could be worth the sign for a Canadian kid. In 2016, he made 24 appearances starting 19 games between High-A, Double-A and Triple-A going 9-8 with a 3.71 earned run average while fanning 100 in 135 innings. In his 3 Triple-A starts with Fresno, Grills only surrendered 5 earned runs in 17.2 innings of work.

He had a respectable 2.09 ERA in 8 starts during the Puerto Rico Winter League in 2017 for Santurce. The southpaw is also a groundball pitcher which plays well into any Blue Jays future plans, if healthy he could be an option for the Bisons in 2018.

Steven Moya- Detroit Tigers

Steven Moya was once thought to be a promising outfielder for the Tigers, however, the 26-year old never lived up to the lofty expectations placed upon the young slugger. In 51 major league games, Moya is hitting .250/.293/.452 with 5 home runs and 50 strikeouts in 133 career plate appearances.

Moya is a career .249 hitter with 138 home runs in 808 career minor league games, he has seasons with 35, 23 and 20 round trippers while playing on the farm for the Tigers. The right-fielder would be a serviceable organizational depth piece in the event the Blue Jays outfielder fall victim to the injury bug in 2018.

Mason Williams- New York Yankees

Mason Williams was drafted in the 4th round of the 2010 amateur draft and has somewhat fallen victim to a numbers game preventing the speedster from asserting himself at the major league level.

Williams has cups of coffee in the majors over the last three season and actually fits the Blue Jays mold they are trying to craft their roster around in 2018. Williams is very athletic with great speed and has spent the majority of his career patrolling centerfield.

In 25 games with the Yankees, Williams is batting .281 with a homer and 2 stolen bases in limited action. Over his minor league career, Williams is batting .273/.327/.369 with 118 stolen bases over his 8-year career. In 2017, Williams swiped 19 bags in 24 attempts at the Triple-A level so his speed could be a definite asset for the slow afoot Blue Jays.

ARLINGTON, TX – AUGUST 17: Elvis Andrus /

Austin Bibens-Dirkx- Texas Rangers

Austin Bibens-Dirkx made his MLB debut last season as a 32-year old and performed adequately for the Texas Rangers. The hurler made 24 appearances including 6 starts accumulating a 4.67 earned run average. Two of his six starts were one-run, 7-inning performances versus the Nationals and Yankees.

The journeyman has played everywhere imaginable including two seasons with the Blue Jays from 2013 through to 2015. Bibens-Dirkx could provide some veteran leadership on the farm and be utilized as a depth starter if the need presents itself seeing the Blue Jays utilized 14 different starting pitchers in 2017.

You can never have enough arms and this veteran has more upside than some of the hurlers we saw toe the rubber in 2017.

A.J. Jimenez- Texas Rangers

If you are looking for a catcher with a stick, then A.J. Jimenez is not the free agent for you. If his name sounds familiar it should. Jimenez spent his entire career with the Blue Jays with the exception of 2017 after signing a free agent deal with the Texas Rangers last offseason.

Jimenez is a defence first backstop who has great game-calling skills and works well with pitching staffs. In 2017, Jimenez made his MLB debut with the Rangers seeing action in 7 games while hitting an uninspiring .083 with a single in 12 plate appearances.

The former 9th round pick of the Jays is a career .266 hitter spanning over 596 games on the farm. Jimenez would be a good insurance policy while handling the Bisons catching duties especially seeing the Jays could lose Rafael Lopez to free agency as well this offseason.

ST. LOUIS, MO – JULY 24: Starter Tim Cooney /

Tim Cooney- Cleveland Indians

Tim Cooney was selected in the 3rd round of the 2012 amateur draft by the St. Louis Cardinals making his MLB debut in 2015 starting 6 games with the Cards impressing with a 3.16 earned run average in 31.1 innings pitched. Cooney looked to have a stranglehold on a spot in the Cardinals rotation before missing the entire 2016 season with a shoulder injury.

Cooney was then snagged off waivers by the Cleveland Indians while he rehabbed. The 26-year old southpaw made his way back last season in time to make 4 rehab starts. Throughout his minor league career, Cooney is 33-26 with a 3.37 earned run average while fanning 377 batters in 459.2 innings in the minors.

Cooney would be a nice sign if the hurler can overcome his previous injury issues as he definitely impressed in his first taste of the majors.

Gianfranco Wawoe- Seattle Mariners

Gianfranco Wawoe is an interesting name that I honestly knew very little about before researching his minor league numbers. The kid is only 23-years old and possesses great speed and athleticism swiping 19 bags between 3-levels last season.

The native of Curacao slashed .263/.305/.354 last season while honing his craft on both the infield and outfield. Wawoe is a super utility player with minor league experience playing a variety of positions including second base (243 games), shortstop (140 games), third base (31 games), left field (19 games), center field (18 games) and right field (7 games).

So Wawoe brings youth, speed and the ability to play numerous positions around the diamond sounds like a deal worth signing if I am the Blue Jays.

Friends From The Past

There are a number of former Blue Jays who will also be on the market this offseason in the likes of Travis Snider, Moises Sierra, Chris Colabello, Tim Collins, Casey Lawrence, Anthony Gose, Sean Nolin, Jack Murphy, and Emilio Bonifacio.

Check out the full list of Minor League Free Agents HERE, Let us know in the comments who you would like to see inked for the 2018 campaign.

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