Blue Jays: Curtis Granderson signs with Miami Marlins

Veteran outfielder Curtis Granderson, who spent the first half of the 2018 season in Toronto with the Blue Jays, has signed a minor-league contract with the Miami Marlins, according to a team announcement.

According to a team announcement, the Miami Marlins have signed veteran outfielder Curtis Granderson to a minor-league deal with an invite to major-league spring training.

Previously, the Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported that he had intentions to continue playing in the majors in 2019. The Blue Jays had not expressed any rumoured interest in bringing him back after he made $5 million with the team in 2018.

Rosenthal added that he will make $1.75 million if he cracks the Marlins’ major league roster, and has the chance to add an additional $250,000 in performance incentives.

One of the game’s classiest and most well-respected characters, Granderson, who turns 38 in March, has appeared in games for the Blue Jays, Brewers, Mets, Tigers, Yankees and Dodgers in parts of 15 MLB seasons.

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In 104 games for the Blue Jays in 2018, Granderson slashed a decent .245/.342/.430 with 11 home runs, 35 RBI and 21 doubles in 349 plate appearances.

After being dealt to Milwaukee in August, he posted an OPS of .846 in 19 games and went 1-for-7 in seven postseason contests for the Brewers. While he didn’t make a big impact on the field, there’s a good chance the Brewers felt his presence in the clubhouse during their stretch run. Overall, he was worth a cumulative 0.9 WAR in 2018.

For his career, Granderson sits sixth among active players in home runs, seventh in runs scored, 14th in offensive WAR and 9th in runs batted in. A three-time All-Star Granderson has appeared in over 1900 major-league games, eighth among active major-leaguers.

Likely a platoon piece for Miami going forward, Granderson will have one last chance to log some major league at-bats to add to his already great career. With the lack of outfield depth in the Marlins organization, he could conceivably make the team out of spring training.