Blue Jays sign OF Jose Tabata to a Minor-League Contract

Thought it may not have been the name fans were hoping to hear, the Blue Jays have added another piece to their outfield puzzle. Jon Heyman reported on Twitter that the Jays have inked former top prospect Jose Tabata to a minor-league deal. 

He isn’t an established player like, say, Angel Pagan, but he certainly isn’t a nobody, either. Adding Tabata is much similar to the late-offseason additions the Jays made last year with Domonic Brown and Junior Lake, in that he provides both depth and possible upside in the outfield. 

Once upon a time, Tabata was a top-50 prospect who was acquired by the Pittsburgh Pirates in a deal with the New York Yankees for Xavier Nady. Tabata broke on to the scene in 2010 with an excellent rookie season, slashing .289/.341/.400 with four home runs and 35 RBIs. It was an impressive rookie season, good enough to land him eighth in Rookie of the Year voting.

He spent the next five seasons with the Pirates but never developed into the player that landed him so much hype as a prospect. In 2015, he was dealt to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Mike Morse, and he hasn’t played in the Majors since. He had a forgettable 2016 with the Dodgers organization, slashing a .244/.340/.333 line with Triple-A Oklahoma City. He was released by the Dodgers in June, and finished the rest of the season in the Mexican league.

It isn’t much, but depth is depth, and the Jays, as we know, have a history of players breaking out for them later on in their careers. And his name is Jose. *Sunglasses Emoji*

If you don’t remember who the hell this guy is, he was the one who broke up Max Scherzer’s perfect game with two strikes and two outs in the ninth inning. HE’LL DO ANYTHING TO GET ON BASE, THIS KID!