Blue Jays: Cameron Rupp would be an upgrade over Luke Maile

The Philadelphia Phillies cut ties with veteran backstop Cameron Rupp yesterday however the catcher would be an upgrade over the Toronto Blue Jays current backup option Luke Maile if they felt so inclined to make the switch.

Don’t get me wrong Cameron Rupp does not come without his flaws and he certainly won’t be the final piece of the puzzle that leads the Blue Jays to the promised land but he is an instant offensive upgrade over Luke Maile who virtually provides no production with the stick.

With the Blue Jays starter Russell Martin destined to play in the neighborhood of 110 games this season, a backstop who can hit a dozen or so round trippers could boost the offence enough to steal a couple games throughout the season with some timely hitting.

The 29-year old Rupp is a career .234/.298/.407 hitter with 39 home runs and a 3.0 WAR in 296 career games with the Phillies. Rupp has connected for 14 and 16 homers respectively in the past two seasons and is slated to earn $2,050,000 in 2018.

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Rupp statistically does not profile as a great pitch framer, however, does throw out prospective base runners at a career 31% clip and is a grinder, meat and potatoes type player who is well liked by teammates.

Maile is an above average defender but has shown little to no life from the lumber hitting .183/.207/.289 with five home runs and 0.0 WAR in 103 MLB games with the Tampa Bay Rays and Blue Jays.

The Jays need a backstop they can rely on to provide at least some offensive production during the 50-60 games they will find their name in the lineup during the 2018 campaign.

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Manager John Gibbons fielded five different catchers last season and they weren’t exactly household names nor did they provide any contribution offensively. The addition of Rupp would ensure that the backstop debacle does not come to light again this season and afford the Jays the luxury of keeping Maile around at the Triple-A level as insurance.