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Blue Jays: Five goals for the Winter Meetings

By Hayden Godfrey

TORONTO, ON - SEPTEMBER 26: Ken Giles #51 of the Toronto Blue Jays celebrates their victory with Reese McGuire #70 during MLB game action against the Houston Astros at Rogers Centre on September 26, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - SEPTEMBER 26: Ken Giles #51 of the Toronto Blue Jays celebrates their victory with Reese McGuire #70 during MLB game action against the Houston Astros at Rogers Centre on September 26, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) /
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ST. PETERSBURG, FL – JUNE 12: Catcher Luke Maile #21 of the Toronto Blue Jays waits at home plate as Carlos Gomez #27 of the Tampa Bay Rays kisses his bat on his way to face pitcher Jaime Garcia during the second inning of a game on June 12, 2018 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Brian Blanco/Getty Images)
ST. PETERSBURG, FL – JUNE 12: Catcher Luke Maile #21 of the Toronto Blue Jays waits at home plate as Carlos Gomez #27 of the Tampa Bay Rays kisses his bat on his way to face pitcher Jaime Garcia during the second inning of a game on June 12, 2018 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Brian Blanco/Getty Images) /

Make a Decision on Catching

The Blue Jays have a trio of capable catchers that can contribute to the big league team in 2019, and none of them are named Russell Martin. The group of Reese McGuire, Danny Jansen, and Luke Maile could be a good enough set of catchers to move forward with. Despite this, though, the team has been indecisive as to what they’re going to do with the catchers in their system.

While Martin is under contract for another season, Maile, Jansen, and McGuire are all making close to nothing. Could Maile be used as trade bait? It seems crazy to suggest, but Maile, who slashed .248/.333/.366 in 202 at-bats this season, could net a low-level prospect. McGuire, young and hopeful, could himself be an interesting option to explore in a potential trade. The aforementioned three are all under the age of 28 and have, to varying degrees, shown what they’re made of at the major league level.

While it might be a rather risky move, not carrying three (maybe four) catchers on the major league roster next season could allow for a vast amount of positional versatility. It’s unlikely that the front office will make this a priority, but doing so would constitute a step in the right direction for a team in need of some concrete lineup anchors.

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