Blue Jays bring back Thole on one-year contract

Josh Thole signed a minor-league contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks. (Tony Dejak/AP)

Two days after non-tendering Josh Thole, the Toronto Blue Jays re-signed the catcher to a one-year deal worth $800,000, the team announced Friday.

Thole had been projected to earn $1.8 million through the arbitration process, so the Blue Jays save approximately $1 million by making him a free agent and re-signing him.

Thole, 29, appeared in 18 games for the Blue Jays in 2015, mostly as the personal catcher of R.A. Dickey. The knuckleballer has a 3.56 ERA in 134 games with Thole behind the plate.

Thole doesn’t offer much offence, however. In parts of seven big league seasons, the left-handed hitter has a .249/.319/.634 batting line with eight home runs.

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