Blue Jays: Ezequiel Carrera is back but is there any room for him?

Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Ezequiel Carrera cleared waivers yesterday and was outrighted off the 40-man roster, Zeke will now be back in camp as a non-roster invitee.

Undoubtedly the surplus of talented free agents still looking for a place to play this season had a significant bearing on Ezequiel Carrera running the waiver gauntlet without being claimed. Carrera is a serviceable fourth outfielder, however, the Blue Jays have become very deep at the outfield position that his skill set is somewhat redundant at this point.

The likes of Kevin Pillar, Randal Grichuk, Curtis Granderson and Steve Pearce have a stranglehold on the potential playing time in the outfield leaving Carrera on the outside looking in. Even if Carrera were to take his services to Triple-A Buffalo, the 30-year old would in all likelihood hinder the development of younger talents like Anthony Alford, Teoscar Hernandez, Dwight Smith Jr. and Dalton Pompey who are all destined to begin the campaign with the herd.

The native of Venezuela is pegged to earn $1.9 million this season after hitting a respectable .282/.356/.408 with 8 round trippers and 10 stolen bases in 131 contests in 2017. Carrera set a career high with 325 plate appearances but still only managed a -0.4 WAR.

More from Toronto Blue Jays News

• Matt Chapman has been exactly what the Blue Jays needed
• Blue Jays: The goalposts are moving in the right direction
• Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays advance to the Championship Series
• Blue Jays: Comparisons for Alek Manoah’s Second Season
• Blue Jays: Adam Cimber, the unlikely decision King

Carrera has spent parts of the past seven seasons with the Blue Jays, Tigers, Indians, and Phillies after the Jays signed him as a free agent following the 2014 season. The Jays will likely keep Carrera around for the remainder of spring training in the event one of the regular outfielders is unable to go when the team breaks camp at the end of March. Although the Jays may want to throw Hernandez or Alford a bone out of the gate if one of the regulars can’t answer the proverbial bell.

Randal Grichuk is already nursing a sprained left wrist suffered while diving for a ball in right-field a few days earlier.

Next: Blue Jays’ Randal Grichuk nursing sprained wrist

The Jays will need to decide in the coming weeks whether they can find a suitor for Carrera, release him outright or assign him to the minors. However, it would appear that his time north of the border is, unfortunately, coming to an end.