Blue Jays designate catcher Nick Raposo for assignment

Toronto claimed the 26-year-old catcher off waivers in August from the St. Louis Cardinals. Thanks to a five-round draft in 2020 due to COVID, Raposo ended up signing an undrafted free agent deal with the Cardinals, making his professional debut in 2021 with their Double-A team. After two seasons in Double-A, he finally earned a promotion to Triple-A in 2023, where he had a 76 wRC+ in 108 plate appearances.

In June 2024, the Cardinals added him to their 40-man roster, but just over a month later, they DFA’ed him, with the Blue Jays claiming him off waivers. In 72 plate appearances with the Buffalo Bisons, Raposo had a .246/.361/.311 slash line with one home run for an 87 wRC+. Raposo’s 2024 season as a whole was one of his better years, as he hit a career-high eight home runs in 280 plate appearances, slashing .206/.280/.340 for a 61 wRC+.

With Raposo being designated for assignment, the Blue Jays have just two catchers remaining on their 40-man roster – Alejandro Kirk and Tyler Heineman. Without question, Kirk will start the lion’s share of the games next season, as he slashed .280/.344/.410 with three home runs in 180 plate appearances after Danny Jansen was traded. This is on top of Gold Glove calibre defence, even if he hasn’t gotten recognition for it yet.

However, Tyler Heineman has limited plate appearances in the big leagues, as in his five-year big league career, he has just 299 total plate appearances. If one of these two players picks up an injury, the Blue Jays’ don’t really have the depth to deal with it.

Phil Clarke is the first one to be called up, as the 26-year-old has strung a couple of good seasons together. Last season with the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats and the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons, he slashed .260/.379/.340 with a higher BB% (13.7%) than K% (10.5%) for a 106 wRC+. However, most of Clarke’s success came in Double-A, as he struggled in Triple-A.

It wouldn’t be a shock if the Blue Jays added a catcher or two on a minor league deal, as the position’s depth is looking a bit rough early in the off-season.