Blue Jays ink Darnell Sweeney to MILB deal

The Toronto Blue Jays inked Darnell Sweeney to a minor league deal that will see the 27-year old begin the season with their Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo.

Darnell Sweeney was originally drafted in the 13th round by the Los Angeles Dodgers, he has 37 games under his belt at the major league level with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2015. During his brief stint in the majors, Sweeney hit .176/.286/.353 with three home runs in 98 plate appearances.

The utility player spent this past spring training with the Cincinnati Reds but was released on March 31st after hitting .087 in 15 preseason games. Sweeney will provide some organizational depth on the farm and has the ability to play both the outfield and infield if needed.

In 686 career minor league games Sweeney is a .271/.343/.423 hitter with 56 round trippers and 152 stolen bases. In 2013 Sweeney swiped 48 bags in High-A with the Dodgers minor league affiliate Rancho Cucamonga. Positionally Sweeney has played second base (251 games), shortstop (217 games) and center field (132) predominately throughout his career.

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A couple former Blue Jays also latched on with Independent Atlantic League teams yesterday as outfielder Travis Snider signed with the Long Island Ducks and Darrell Ceciliani inked a deal with the New Britain Bees.

Snider was a Blue Jays first-rounder in 2006 but never lived up to the lofty expectations. He spent last season in the minors for the Mets and Rangers hitting .296 with 10 homers in 117 contests. Snider last appeared in the majors with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2015.

Ceciliani played three games with the Jays last season but was shelved after partially dislocating his shoulder on a home run swing versus the Atlanta Braves last May. The outfielder has 55 games on his MLB resume with both the Blue Jays and Mets. Ceciliani will join a Bees team that is managed by the infamous Wally Backman.

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Neither Snider or Ceciliani was able to latch on with a major league team so they will attempt to build their stock back up playing Indy ball.