Blue Jays sign former face of MLB finalist to minor league deal

The Blue Jays have signed INF Eric Sogard to a minor-league deal with an invite to Spring Training, Robert Murray of the Athletic reports. 

Sogard went to the finals of the #FaceOfMLB contest a few years ago, beating out Buster Posey, Troy Tulowitzki, and Jose Bautista, but I still couldn’t tell you what he looks like even though I’m currently looking at his picture. He’s…uh, a baseball player! Yep! He does that baseball thing. With the Blue Jays needing bodies in the infield after releasing Tulowitzki and non-tendering Yangervis Solarte, Sogard will definitely be a baseball player.

The 32-year-old has been pretty lacklustre at the plate for the most part throughout his MLB career, hitting .238/.309/.314 over eight seasons. He has played all over the infield, though, so if there are injuries, the team won’t run out of bodies. This is Ryan Goins 2.0, just without the guaranteed starts and the love of a nation (for some reason).

In a perfect role, Sogard will essentially play Tulo’s role this year as the guy that’s mentioned maybe once a month that we never get to see. The good news here is that in his case, we won’t long for days of the past, unless viral marketing campaigns are your thing.