Toronto Blue Jays sign former Rays farmhand Nathan Witt to minor league contract

The Toronto Blue Jays continue to add to their minor league depth, this time signing former Dodgers and Rays farmhand Nathan Witt to a minor league deal.

The move was initially announced by the player himself on Twitter, but he has since deleted the tweet. Since then, others have begun to report that the signing did indeed go through and he is a member of the Jays organization.

This represents yet another move to increase organizational depth for the Jays, primarily on the pitching side. Witt now adds his name to the list of depth signings from the past week or two; joining Casey Lawrence, Drew Hutchison, Julian Fernández, Paul Fry and Jay Jackson as the organization's newest arms.

The amount of quiet, under-the-radar moves by the Jays is clearly a sign that a lesson has been learned from previous years. Just take a look at some of the names that made it into big league action over the past five years or so and you will see that the lack of depth came back to bite the club.

Heading into this offseason, Ross Atkins and Co. appear to be completely re-writing that narrative for the upcoming season.

As for Witt, 26, he was drafted by the Dodgers in the 17th round of the 2017 MLB Draft and has taken some time to ascend through the minor leagues. Acquired by the Rays in 2019 for reliever Casey Sadler, he had made appearances in Rays system in each of the past four seasons.

It's worth noting that his numbers haven't exactly done enough to instill confidence in anyone. Through 101 games in his minor league career, Witt has a 6-11 record with a 5.77 ERA in 121.2 innings. He has struck out only 125 while walking 71, a number that is way too high for comfort.

All hope is not lost with Witt. Sure, the walks are scary but he possesses a mid-90s sinker that he relies on as his main pitch. He mixes this in with a cutter/slider combo, so he has enough pitches under his belt to at least warrant some intrigue.

After being non-tendered at the conclusion of the 2022 campaign, Witt has now chosen to join the Blue Jays organization, where maybe his value can be brought back up. But for now, don't count on seeing him on a big league mound anytime soon.