Ryan Kalish, who appeared in 57 games for the Chicago Cubs in 2014, signed a minor league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays Wednesday.
Kalish, whose deal includes an invitation to MLB spring training, has experience in parts of three seasons with the Boston Red Sox and Cubs. While he’s a former top prospect, he has undergone shoulder and back surgeries that caused him to miss the entire 2013 season.
A left-handed hitter, Kalish has played all three outfield positions at the MLB level. The 26-year-old is a lifetime .245/.293/.350 hitter in 412 plate appearances against big league pitching. He also has eight years of minor league experience, including a .257/.325/.405 batting line in four seasons at triple-A.
Jose Bautista and Michael Saunders will start in Toronto’s outfield corners, but the Blue Jays’ centre field job won’t be won until Dalton Pompey, Kevin Pillar and Ezequiel Carrera compete for playing time in spring training. Like Kalish, outfielder Caleb Gindl obtained a minor league deal that should allow him to put himself on the radar of Blue Jays decision makers.
The Red Sox selected Kalish in the ninth round of the 2006 draft, and he became a top prospect within a couple of seasons. Baseball America ranked him 96th among all minor leaguers before the 2008 campaign, and he debuted with Boston in 2010.
The Cubs granted Kalish free agency on Oct. 30, though he’s not yet eligible for salary arbitration.
