Blue Jays take flyer on power-hitting catcher in waiver claim from Mets

The Toronto Blue Jays are always looking to add valuable depth to the organization when given the opportunity. Just earlier in the week, the Blue Jays acquired right-handed pitcher José Rodríguez from the Los Angeles Dodgers to bolster their pitching depth.

On Saturday (Aug. 5), Toronto added once again to one of their positions of weakness in the system as they claimed catcher Shawn Ross off waivers from the New York Mets. Ross was recently designated for assignment by the Mets after claiming Cameron Weston off waivers from the Baltimore Orioles. The 26-year-old catcher was assigned by the Blue Jays to their Triple-A affiliate Buffalo Bisons following the acquisition.

Ross began his professional baseball career with the Pittsburgh Pirates organization in 2022 after signing as an undrafted free agent. Known primarily for his power production, the 26-year-old catcher has tallied 53 home runs and 148 RBIs in 285 minor league games despite hitting below .200 over that stretch of four seasons.

This year, Ross has compiled a .184/.333/.418 slash line, with 33 runs scored, 13 doubles, 11 home runs and 29 RBIs in 70 games of action split between the Pirates and Mets organizations. He also made his MLB debut earlier this year with Pittsburgh, doing what he does best in hitting his first MLB home run in just his second big league game.

On the defensive side of things, the 26-year-old catcher has a .986 fielding percentage with 22 passed balls over his four years in the minors. But he does possess a good arm, having thrown out 32% of the baserunners that have tried to steal a base off of him.

Despite all of that, Ross was designated for assignment by the Pirates in late July and was ultimately picked up by the Mets on waivers, but was DFA’d once again just over a month later.

Shawn Ross could be a surprising, under-the-radar add for the Blue Jays

The Blue Jays’ catching depth has grown quite thin beyond major league starters Alejandro Kirk and Brandon Valenzuela, especially after the loss of William MacIver on waivers to the Seattle Mariners. As a result, Ross will now serve as important insurance at the position for the organization, as the Blue Jays currently have C.J. Stubbs and William Simoneit as the next men up in Buffalo.

But the newly-acquired catcher by Toronto does bring an additional attribute that could prove to be invaluable if he eventually makes his way to the majors for the Blue Jays. That attribute is the fact that Ross has also seen time in several infield positions during his minor league career, picking up reps at first base, third base and shortstop.

As a result, if Toronto ever wants to have a backup catcher with power that could also serve as an infield utilityman as a part of their bench, the 26-year-old could eventually get his opportunity.

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