Blue Jays must capitalize on unexpected Dodgers roster move if they have the chance

After the Dodgers signed Hye-Seong Kim to a contract, they needed to make room on their 40-man roster for the middle infielder. Fans across the league were waiting to see, as just about everybody, including the Toronto Blue Jays, could benefit from any LA roster crunch.

In the end, the Dodgers decided to designate Diego Cartaya for assignment, who was the 16th-ranked prospect in the organization, according to MLB Pipeline.

Now that it is official, the Blue Jays should definitely try to claim the catching prospect off of waivers. As it sits right now, Tyler Heineman is the backup catcher and that is less than ideal. Although Cartaya has yet to appear in a major league game, he might be an upgrade over Heineman simply given his prospect status.

Cartaya has just one minor league option remaining, but the Jays should still try and acquire him to become the backup catcher on the big league roster. He is a defensive-first catcher with power upside. MLB Pipeline gave his arm a 60 grade and his fielding a 55 grade. Cartaya's arm strength has been decent as well — he threw out 18 runners last season.

Blue Jays should take a chance on recently DFA'd catching prospect Diego Cartaya

Toronto may need to beat out their rival in Boston for Cartaya as Chris Cotillo has reported the Red Sox might have interest in him. As the waiver wire works, if the Blue Jays submitted a claim for him, then they would get him over the Red Sox. The order of the waiver claims goes by lowest winning percentage.

Last season across Double-A and Triple-A, Cartaya struggled. He batted .221 with 11 home runs and 52 RBI. He logged just a .686 OPS along with an 88 wRC+ and a high strikeout rate of 28.2%. Offensively he was not great, but he does bring power upside with him. In 2022, he belted 22 home runs in a single season, which was not bad for his age-20 campaign.

Overall, Cartaya is a low-risk, high-reward type of pickup. He still has a lot of potential to bring to the table and could still develop in the backup catcher role in Toronto. Heineman isn't exactly an impact bat in that role, so why not try the former top prospect instead? Alejandro Kirk is the starter and will get the majority of reps, but a solid/younger backup as the option in the event of an injury or a day off could yield positive long-term results.