Blue Jays sign three minor leaguers

The Toronto Blue Jays signed three minor leaguers this week, two of which were previously with the organization in Jon Berti and Murphy Smith and newcomer Will Savage.

The Blue Jays re-upped with 27-year old farm hand Jon Berti who provides organizational depth in Triple-A. The speedy Berti is a versatile fielder with the ability to play infield and outfield while providing plus speed on offence. In 688 professional games, Berti is a career .253/.336/.344 hitter with 236 stolen bases at various stops through the minors.

Last season in 65 games, Berti hit .204 with 24 swipes playing all but three of those games for the Buffalo Bisons. The former 18th round pick of the Jays has stolen as many as 56 bags in a season.

Along with Berti, the Jays also inked 30-year old right-handed pitcher Murphy Smith who has spent the past three seasons with the Jays minor league ranks. Smith made 39 appearances including 8 starts last season for the Bisons accumulating a respectable 3.68 earned run average.

In 2016, Smith was dominant pitching out fo the bullpen for the New Hampshire Fishercats allowing only 12 earned runs in 43 relief appearances while compiling a minuscule 1.48 earned run average.

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The former 13th rounder of the Athletics is still looking to make his major league debut while owning a career 3.92 earned run average in 251 minor league games.

The third and final signing is Will Savage who is new to the organization coming over from the Detroit Tigers. Savage is a 23-year old middle infielder who was born in the United Kingdom. In two seasons in Single-A Savage has struggled offensively hitting .201/.295/.252 with 1 home run and 24 swipes in 102 career games.

Last season he hit .219 with 9 stolen bases down from the previous season where he swiped 15 bags. Savage will have to produce with the stick if he plans on climbing up the minor league ranks with the Jays although he did just turn 23 this past December.

Next: Blue Jays: Curtis Granderson is a piece to the puzzle

The Blue Jays have had a slow offseason not only signing major league players but also inking minor league organizational depth type players. We should expect more signings like these in the coming weeks as management attempts to shore up their rosters on the farm going into spring training.