The many links between the Blue Jays and Giants
Fred Lewis – The Conditional Inclusion
Playing in an oft-forgotten period of Toronto Blue Jays baseball, outfielder Fred Lewis was traded to Toronto from San Francisco on April 26, 2018. Prior to his stint with the Giants, the native of Hattiesburg, Mississippi had attended Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Although he only played with the Blue Jays for one year, he wasn’t all that bad, slashing a decent .262/.332/.414 in 110 games during the 2010 season, stealing 17 bases and adding 31 doubles, five triples, and eight home runs to his season’s totals.
In 480 plate appearances, he boasted an OPS+ of 101 and had a quietly useful WAR of 0.2. He would eventually be non-tendered by the Blue Jays and became a free-agent in December. After briefly signing on with the Cincinnati Reds in 2011, he bounced around a bit, first logging time with the Cleveland Indians organization and then appearing in 18 games for the New York Mets in 2012.
He eventually went to Japan to play with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp before signing on with the Lancaster Barnstormers of the independent Atlantic League. He retired from professional baseball in 2016 after playing 26 games with the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs. For his career, which lasted six years, he slashed a cumulative .266/.344/.403 and notched 53 stolen bases, 27 home runs, 21 triples and 91 doubles in 1562 at-bats. He finished his career having amassed a total of 4.1 WAR.