The Toronto Blue Jays have already acquired one former Cleveland Guardians outfielder who went on to make a bigger impact than expected. Might lightning strike twice?
Last year, the Blue Jays traded for Myles Straw and received international bonus pool space in exchange for taking on the remainder of Straw’s contract, at a time when Toronto was still in the hunt to sign Roki Sasaki. But after Sasaki chose the Dodgers, Straw went on to have a great season, putting up 2.9 bWAR in 137 regular-season games, mostly on the strength of his defense.
Recently, the Blue Jays picked up another outfielder off the discard pile from Cleveland, albeit one with far less name recognition.
According to the official Major League Baseball transactions log, the Blue Jays signed 23-year-old Venezuelan outfielder Jorge Burgos to a minor-league contract on Wednesday, a month and a half after Burgos elected free agency for the first time in his career.
A 2019 international free-agent signing, Burgos played 491 minor-league games in the Cleveland organization. His bat stood out in the low levels of the minors, but cooled off in Double-A, where he posted a .658 OPS in 113 games over the last two seasons.
Upon signing with the Blue Jays, Burgos was initially assigned to Double-A New Hampshire. That assignment could change after the club sees him in action during spring training, but it would be nearly impossible to foresee him cracking the major league roster with no Triple-A experience under his belt.
With Toronto’s outfield already crowded and signing Kyle Tucker still a possibility, Burgos’ major league debut likely won’t happen as a Blue Jay this year. But if he lights up the minors, he could force his way into the discussion for a role in future seasons.
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