Blue Jays make several minor league signings to support positional player depth

The Toronto Blue Jays have already made many key signings so far this offseason to bolster their major league pitching staff. Whether it be the overseas dip to reel in Cody Ponce, the recruitment of the unique arm angled Tyler Rogers, or the signing of the biggest fish of them all in Dylan Cease, their pitching depth has improved substantially with those bold moves.

However, adding to the major league roster is just one part of an organization’s success, as it is just as crucial to have valuable minor league depth available to support the roster. The Blue Jays were in action to improve on that as well during this offseason as they recently made several signings this month to add much-needed positional player depth to the organization.

Blue Jays make several minor league signings to support positional player depth

In particular, the Blue Jays have signed catchers Isay Veras and Geovanny Planchart, and more recently first baseman/outfielder Jorge Burgos to minor league contracts ahead of the 2026 season. Veras was an international amateur signing out of the Dominican Republic. He spent his past two seasons in the MLB’s Amateur Scouting League where his 2024 stats showed that he hit .158 with a .711 OPS, along with seven runs scored, six RBIs, 11 walks and just four strikeouts in 10 games played.

As for Planchart, he had spent his entire professional baseball career with the Pittsburgh Pirates organization during the past six seasons, reaching as high as Double-A in 2024. Last season, he played for their High-A affiliate Greensboro where he amassed just a .193 average, .601 OPS, together with 21 runs scored, six doubles, three home runs and 18 RBIs in 56 total games played.

In terms of Burgos, he had been a part of the Cleveland Guardians organization since 2019 and has shown some decent power production coming up their minor league system. Last year with their Double-A affiliate Akron, he compiled a .206 average, .681 OPS, along with 44 runs scored, 16 doubles, three triples, 14 home runs and 73 RBIs in just 98 games of action.

Just taking a look at those numbers, they all sure don’t all jump out of the page. But given the right environment for the growth and development of their raw skills and talents, they could become serviceable major leaguers for the Jays down the road when all is said and done. Nevertheless, having potential depth is always better than having no depth at all, as Toronto hopes it could end up helping to support them in being perennial contenders for the foreseeable future.