Blue Jays minor league signee Wes Parsons ready for new chapter, 'I'm going to gain so much from being here'

According to his transaction logs, the Toronto Blue Jays have signed right-handed pitcher Wes Parsons to a minor league contract. The 6-foot-5 hurler has experience as both a relief pitcher and a starter over the course of what's been a nine-year professional career, including two years in the majors with the Atlanta Braves and Colorado Rockies.

In 33 career games in The Show, Parsons, 30, has a 5.67 ERA, 6.61 FIP and an ERA+ of 86. In that time, he walked (32) more batters than he struck out (29). While those numbers are not likely to instill much confidence in your average Blue Jays faithful, his minor league numbers have been much better over the years. In fact, he has a career 3.33 ERA in just under 150 games in the minors.

After a poor 2019 showing in the big leagues, he did not resurface in professional ball until 2021 when he signed a contract with the NC Dinos in South Korea. There, he returned to a starting pitching role and saw his numbers dramatically improve. In a total of 32 starts across two seasons, he went 5-10 with a 3.68 ERA, striking out just under 10 batters per nine innings and allowing just 0.7 HR/9 in 176 innings of work.

Parsons was released from the Dinos in August of 2022. He has not made any professional appearances since then, but he does not anticipate there being many hurdles as he gets back into game action with the Blue Jays. "I've been training hard", he says. "I want to be able to represent the organization properly. Everyone has hurdles throughout the season, but right now, I'm just feeling thankful to be playing again and staying optimistic about a successful season with the Blue Jays."

It's unclear whether Parsons will be built up as a reliever or starter in the Blue Jays' system. "I'm not sure just yet", he says in a chat with us. "I don't know which role I'll be asked to fill, but I will do whatever is asked for me by the team."

To begin his tenure in the organization, Parsons will be assigned to the Florida Complex League (FCL) in order to get him ramped up in game action. Once he is set, the right-hander confirmed with us that he will be promoted either to Double-A New Hampshire or Triple-A Buffalo to bring some more depth to the staff. With Nate Pearson and Jay Jackson both recently called up from the Bisons, the cupboards have been a bit bare as of late.

"I am very excited to join this organization", he says. "Everyone from the trainers to the staff to my teammates have all been welcoming and extremely knowledgeable. I feel like I will gain a lot from being part of the organization and I cannot wait to see where the rest of this season goes."