The Toronto Blue Jays made some additions Tuesday, though they weren’t the big names the team has been linked to in rumours from MLB’s GM Meetings.
The Blue Jays signed Scott Copeland to a minor league contract that includes an invitation to MLB spring training in 2015. The 26-year-old right-hander spent the 2014 season in the upper levels of the Blue Jays system, posting a 3.44 ERA with 105 strikeouts in 164.2 innings for double-A New Hampshire and triple-A Buffalo.
Toronto also agreed to minor league deals with three other right-handers: Austin Bibens-Dirkx, Mike Lee and Bobby Korecky, who pitched in two games for the 2014 Blue Jays.
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Korecky was the MVP of the Buffalo Bisons in 2014 when he posted a 1.97 ERA and 60 strikeouts in 64 innings. The 35-year-old collected 22 saves and made the International League All-Star team.
The Orioles initially selected Copeland in the 21st round of the 2010 draft and he pitched in Baltimore’s system until joining the Blue Jays in 2012. In five seasons as a professional, Copeland has a 4.30 ERA with 430 strikeouts and 245 walks in 647 innings. He has yet to make his MLB debut.
Bibens-Dirkx posted a 3.89 ERA over the course of five stints with the Bisons and had a 3.16 ERA with New Hampshire in 2014. Lee spent most of the year with the double-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks, where he posted a 4.49 ERA in 104.1 innings.
