Sacramento Athletics sign former Toronto Blue Jays catcher
Photo credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
The Sacramento Athletics have signed former Toronto Blue Jays catcher Brian Serven to a minor league contract.
According to the player transaction tracker at MLB.com, the Athletics have signed free agent catcher Brian Serven to a minor league contract.
Serven, 31 signed a minor league deal with Tigers last season, and he got into 62 contests for Triple-A Toledo with a .232/.335/.313 batting line.
The fifth homer of the game goes to Brian Serven 💥
The Tigers didn't call him up during the campaign and he returned to free agency at season's end.
He does have 101 big league games on his track record from previous seasons, having suited up for the Rockies and Blue Jays.
He only mustered a .187/.247/.293 line in his 299 plate appearances for those clubs but he got strong reviews for his work behind the plate.
Serven will give the Athletics some experienced catching depth at Triple-A Las Vegas
Outlets like FanGraphs, Statcast and Baseball Prospectus all considered him adequate in terms of blocking and controlling the running game and very strong in terms of pitch framing.
The A's currently have just two catchers on their 40-man roster. Shea Langeliers is slated to be the regular with Austin Wynns projected to be the backup.
Bringing Serven aboard gives them some experienced non-roster depth.
Brian Serven solo bomb to left field 💣Toledo goes ahead 1-0
If Serven is eventually needed in the big leagues, he may not hit very much but he will at least be a glove-first option for the A's.
If he's added to the roster at some point, he still has an option and less than two years of service time. That means he can provide roster flexibility and hasn't yet qualified for arbitration.
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| POLL | ||
JANVIER 5 | 128 ANSWERS Sacramento Athletics sign former Toronto Blue Jays catcher Do you think Brian Severn will break camp with the Athletics? | ||
| Yes | 50 | 39.1 % |
| No | 46 | 35.9 % |
| Too early to tell | 32 | 25 % |
| List of polls | ||