Blue Jays claim Beau Taylor off waivers, option him to Buffalo

One of the only transactions that can now happen in the month of August, the Toronto Blue Jays claimed catcher Beau Taylor off of waivers from the Oakland Athletics and have optioned him to Triple-A Buffalo.

Taylor, 29, was drafted by the A’s in the fifth-round back in 2011 and made his first big-league appearance for the club last season. Through 2018 and 2019, he has amassed a total of 33 plate appearances for a slashline of .188/.333/.444 — fun! He was designated for assignment by Oakland on Tuesday.

He will be joining the Bisons for the last few weeks in the minor league season and unless there are resulting transactions, they will be carrying three catchers on the roster with both Michael De La Cruz and Patrick Cantwell currently active.

This season in Triple-A, Taylor is hitting for a .257 average, .869 OPS, and a 117 wRC+ — his highest rate of offensive production in the minors since 2017.

As some of the fastest risers in the prospect rankings for the Blue Jays are catchers Gabriel Moreno and Alejandro Kirk, Toronto will be bolstering their other catcher depth as those two hopefully continue their meteoric rise through the minor league system.

The 29-year-old catcher has also improved his plate appearance this season, as his 19.6 BB% in Triple-A is his highest walk rate in his entire professional career.

This move will have no consequences and can add some old veteran depth at a position of strength within the Blue Jays prospect system.