The Toronto Blue Jays have brought back catcher Josh Thole on a one-year contract worth $800,000. Thole was recently the only member of the Blue Jays 10 potential arbitration cases to be non-tendered, but this deal keeps him in the organization for $1 million less that what his projected salary was.
Toronto made a similar move one year ago with Justin Smoak, non-tendering him to avoid a pricy arbitration number and agreeing on a lesser salary. This deal likely returns Thole to a leading role in the competition for the backup catching job behind Russell Martin. As it stands, the only catchers close by would be Humberto Quintero and A.