BALTIMORE – Just one day after being designated for assignment, catcher Josh Thole elected free agency, setting up a potential return to the Toronto Blue Jays.
Thole, who lost his roster spot soon after the Blue Jays traded for Dioner Navarro, can now sign with any team. Should he re-sign with Toronto by Wednesday night, he’ll be eligible for the playoffs as long as he remains in the organization from here on.
“We’re hoping to get him back,” Blue Jays manager Gibbons said Monday.
Even if Thole doesn’t immediately look like a lock for a potential Blue Jays playoff roster, a lot could happen in the course of the team’s final 30 games, and it never hurts to have contingency plans. As a result, signing Thole before September makes sense for the Blue Jays.
Perhaps more importantly, he can help the Blue Jays reach the playoffs again. They’ll need a third catcher during the final month of the season and Thole knows the pitching staff well.
Given Thole’s role as R.A. Dickey’s personal catcher, he has more value to the Blue Jays than any other team. The Blue Jays were hoping the DFA wouldn’t stand in the way of a potential reunion.
“He was disappointed, but he understood what was going on,” Gibbons said.