Blue Jays part ways with Yangervis Solarte

Yangervis Solarte’s time with the Toronto Blue Jays has come to an end. The 31-year-old only made it through one season with the Jays, before being non-tendered late this evening.

There were high hopes when Solarte was acquired for prospects Edward Olivares and right-hander Jared Carkuff last offseason, but with the Blue Jays looking to rebuild it made more sense to cut loose the veteran. He seemed far less likely to stay on the Blue Jays roster after the Blue Jays declined his club option last month, and with the MLB Contract Deadline looming Solarte became the odd man out.

Yangervis batted a lukewarm .226/.277/.378 in 122 games, after having a red-hot start to the season. His season started so well that he earned himself an impromptu promotional t-shirt giveaway when the Blue Jays had to act quickly to replace a Roberto Osuna promotion after his domestic violence issue.

Solarte will be remembered for his dance celebrations and positive attitude during a down season. He will also be remembered for the bloodied face-first slide into third:

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There was a time when the Blue Jays had hoped to be able to flip the Venezuelan for prospects at the trade deadline, but then Solarte’s play suffered down the stretch, and then he sustained an oblique injury in August which landed him on the DL, and the opportunities for trading Solarte dried up.

Where the 31-year-old will end up is anyone’s guess, but it is likely that Solarte will be able to land a deal somewhere in the MLB. His ability to play second, third, or short will likely appeal to a team willing to use him in a bench utility capacity.

For the Blue Jays, they just opened up more playing time for their young crop of infielders, and that can only make this upcoming spring training all the more interesting to see. With young infielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. needing full-time reps to see what we have in him, this ended up being the best move for the Blue Jays looking forward.

We can’t end any Solarte article off without a little Venezuelan heat: