The Toronto Blue Jays chose to take a chance on veteran outfielder Dexter Fowler yesterday, signing him to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training.
Today, the move became official.
Fowler is set to be a Blue Jay in 2022.
Fowler spent the 2021 season with the Los Angeles Angels, who acquired him from the St. Louis Cardinals.
There wasn’t much in the way of productivity for Fowler last season, however, as he tore his ACL seven games into the season and was sidelined for the remainder of the season.
But Fowler made it clear that he still wants to play.
Smart Move?
This move could work out two ways for the Blue Jays.
If he can get healthy and stay healthy, then he has a chance to claim a roster spot after the team traded Randal Grichuk to the Colorado Rockies in exchange for Raimel Tapia.
If he claims a spot on the big-league roster, then he could potentially return to form.
Though he is 36, Fowler still possesses a solid power stroke from the left side of the plate, and if he can find it again, he could find success in 2022.
If Fowler can’t recover and continues to struggle to hit for a decent average, then this move will turn out to be nothing more than a simple depth move, and his time with the Blue Jays organization could end as quickly as it began.
Fowler is obviously well past his prime and is far from the player he was in 2016 when he was a World Series champion with the Chicago Cubs.
But we’ll see what happens with this move.
Maybe he can find his way again.
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