Blue Jays: Luis Santos re-signs while Christian Lopes takes services elsewhere

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - SEPTEMBER 14: Luis Santos
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - SEPTEMBER 14: Luis Santos

The Toronto Blue Jays continue to make additions to their minor league ranks strengthening their depth for the upcoming campaign.

The Blue Jays inked pitcher Luis Santos to a minor league pact with an invite to spring training while infielder Christian Lopes took his services to Texas signing a minor league deal with the Rangers.

The 26-year old Santos made his major league debut last season making 10 appearances out of the bullpen for the Blue Jays. In 16.2 innings of work, Santos compiled a respectable 2.70 earned run average while fanning 16.

The hurler was touched up for 5 runs with 4 of them coming via the long ball during his September audition. The native of the Dominican Republic also notched his first MLB save in 2017 pitching 3 innings of an 8-2 win over the Detroit Tigers.

The hurler made 28 starts on the farm, 24 with the Bisons and 4 with the Fisher Cats going 3-13 with a 4.16 earned run average while averaging 8.0 SO/9 over 114.2 innings on the bump. Santos will be organizational depth for the Jays in the event of an injury while pitching for Buffalo.

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Further to the Santos addition, infielder Christian Lopes latched on with the Rangers after spending the previous 6 seasons with the Jays. Lopes was selected by the Jays in the 7th round, 229th overall in the 2011 amateur draft.

Lopes is a career .262/.336/.376 hitter with 27 home runs and 44 stolen bases spanning over 617 minor league contests. Last season Lopes hit .269 with 19 stolen bases in 23 attempts in 96 games on the farm.

The Rangers also announced days earlier that they also had inked former Blue Jays outfielder Anthony Gose. The Jays had shipped Gose to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for Devon Travis with Gose attempting his hand at pitching last season.

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This will undoubtedly be just the beginning of the minor league roster tinkering and jockeying as the brain trust prepares for 2018.

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