Little late to the party on this one, but the Blue Jays have injected some Canadian flavour into the minor league system.

After being released by the Los Angeles Angels organization in early August, Richmond Hill, Ont. product David Calabrese has landed with the Toronto Blue Jays on a MiLB deal. Calabrese was signed by the Jays on August 12th, and the outfielder was sent to High-A Vancouver to continue his climb up the farm system ladder.

A third-round pick of the Angels in 2020, Calabrese has spent most of his pro career in Double-A with the Rocket City Trash Pandas. Through four seasons and over 311 games, Calabrese posted a .203/.303/.332 slash line with a .635 OPS and 29 home runs. Batting from the left side, Calabrese was drafted out of high school and is 23-years-old with over six seasons of pro baseball under his belt. He’s a contact hitter by trade and is a versatile outfielder who can also steal the odd base or two (71 for his career).

Defensively, Calabrese has split his time between all three outfield positions. He’s spent the most time in centre field (1738 innings) but has considerable time in the corner spots (1229.1 innings in LF and 1049.1 in RF), that make him a versatile fielder. For his career, he has 11 outfield assists with a combined .986 fielding percentage.

Calabrese landed in Vancouver late last week and has three games under his belt with the Canadians. Through 13 plate appearances, he’s collected three hits (.273) with one double and two runs scored. He’s also chipped in with one stolen base and one walk compared to three strikeouts.

It will be interesting to see if the Jays will have Calabrese finish the year in the Northwest League or if they will follow the Angels’ suit and send him back to Double-A. The Fisher Cats would have to move some pieces around with five outfielders in the mix already, but there is some room to work with if they think Calabrese should be up a spot in the organization.

Stay ahead of the first pitch! From breaking news, unexpected trades and must-read analysis, BlueJaysNation delivers the insight serious Jays fans rely on—straight to your inbox. Sign up for the Bluejaysnation newsletter here!