Blue Jays trade Dwight Smith Jr. to the Baltimore Orioles

Smith Jr., 26, had previously been designated for assignment by the Blue Jays in order to make room on the 40-man roster for pitcher Clay Buchholz.

The Blue Jays have traded outfielder Dwight Smith Jr. to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for international signing bonus pool space, the team announced Friday evening.

Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi adds that the Blue Jays will be receiving $500,000 in bonus pool room in the trade. In a corresponding move, the Orioles have designed left-handed pitcher Josh Osich for assignment.

Smith Jr., 26, had been designated for assignment by the Blue Jays earlier this month when the signing of pitcher Clay Buchholz became official.

As Keegan Matheson of Baseball Toronto notes, it likely would have been difficult for the Blue Jays to pass Smith Jr. through waivers, given that he’s still a relatively valuable outfield piece for a team like the Orioles.

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Last year, Smith Jr., a Georgia native, slashed .262/.347/.477 in 35 games for the major league club and slashed .268/.358/.413 in 85 games for the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons. In 2017, he spent most of the season with Buffalo, posting an OPS of .743 in 108 games, adding eight home runs, 46 RBI and eight stolen bases in 449 plate appearances.

A first-round pick by the Blue Jays in 2011, Smith Jr. likely wouldn’t have gotten many opportunities had he stayed with the team. Given the already cloudy outfield picture comprised of Randal Grichuk, Kevin Pillar, Teoscar Hernandez, Anthony Alford and Billy McKinney, he would’ve probably started (and played out) the season in Buffalo.

Now, he will get the chance to regain some of his stock with a new organization, one that has significantly less outfield depth than the Blue Jays.

In 725 minor-league games, he slashed a cumulative .268/.344/.402 in parts of seven seasons, appearing only in games with the Blue Jays organization.