Toronto Blue Jays Make Depth Move by Signing Luke Scott

The Toronto Blue Jays signed outfielder Luke Scott to a minor league deal today, per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. Scott will report to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons sometime this week and figures to serve as organizational depth.

In a nine-year career that has spanned 889 games, the 36-year-old Scott has a slash line of .258/.340/.481 with 135 home runs, 436 RBI and 370 runs scored. The left-handed hitter also has a respectable .845 OPS in his career against right-handed pitchers.

Scott last appeared in a MLB game in 2013 with the Tampa Bay Rays. He spent parts of the 2014 season with the SK Wyverns of the Korean Baseball Organization and briefly played for Pericos de Puebla of the Mexican League earlier this year.

While Scott primarily played as an outfielder during most of his MLB career, he also appeared at first base with the Rays in 2013.

Unless the team faces injuries, it’s unlikely that Toronto will need to call Scott up to the majors this season.

The Blue Jays currently have Chris Colabello, Kevin Pillar and Ezequiel Carrera as their starting outfielders. Colabello and Carrera were called up from Buffalo after right fielder Jose Bautista suffered a shoulder injury that left him unable to throw and centre fielder Dalton Pompey was demoted to the minors.

Once Bautista—who’s currently serving as the team’s designated hitter—returns from his injury, one of Carrera or Colabello will likely be relegated to the bench. At first base, Toronto has Edwin Encarnacion starting with Justin Smoak serving as the backup.

This makes it nearly impossible for someone like Scott to break in with the Blue Jays in the outfield or at first base.

Considering that Colabello and Carrera were both starters for Buffalo, adding Scott is a good way to replace some of that depth for the Bisons.

So, while it’s unlikely that we’ll see Scott make much of an impact with the Blue Jays this season, adding a veteran, left-handed hitter with good career numbers on a minor league deal is a solid move for the team, and it should improve organizational depth.

*All stats are Baseball-Reference.com.