Bisons add catching depth in Maile

Luke Maile shakes hands with Kirby Yates after the Tampa Bay Rays defeated Baltimore Orioles 11-2 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Photo: Patrick McDermott/Getty Images North America.

Blue Jays Add Depth To Buffalo Bisons Roster
By Jay Blue
Blue Jays from Away
 
In addition to garnering their first win of the season in the series opener against Tampa Bay, the Blue Jays announced two minor league roster moves that bolster the depth on the Buffalo Bisons. The Jays claimed catcher Luke Maile from the Rays and sent pitcher Mike Bolsinger outright to Buffalo after he cleared waivers.

The Blue Jays added a fourth catcher to the Bisons’ roster on Thursday as waiver claim Luke Maile was optioned to Buffalo. Maile, 26, was an eighth-round draft pick of the Rays in 2012, coming to the club out of the University of Kentucky. Always more of a contact hitter than a power hitter, Maile has improved his reputation as a defender after being tabbed an offense-first catcher coming out of college. Now Maile is seen as a defense-first catcher with little offensive upside, despite showing a little bit more pop than expected last year in the majors despite a .227/.252/.361 slash line. Maile is the fourth catcher on the 40-man roster (behind Russell Martin, Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Juan Graterol) and joins Graterol, Mike Ohlman, and Alex Monsalve in Buffalo.

Bolsinger was acquired last year from the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for Jesse Chavez and has since only pitched in Buffalo. Bolsinger was drafted three times but finally signed after improving his position from the 33rd round in 2009 to the 15th round in 2010 and joined the Arizona Diamondbacks. A sinker-slider pitcher, Bolsinger defied some scouting reports which suggested that he projected to being a reliever in the pros. He started all throughout the minor leagues, and had his best season in 2015, making 21 starts for the Dodgers with a 3.62 ERA and 1.36 WHIP, striking out over eight batters per nine innings.

In 2016, Bolsinger struggled for LA in six starts, and did eventually move to the bullpen in Triple-A Oklahoma City but returned to the rotation, making six starts for Buffalo with a 6.04 ERA after he was traded. With the Buffalo rotation seemingly set with Casey Lawrence, Mat Latos, T.J. House, Jarrett Grube and Brett Oberholtzer, Bolsinger might be relegated to a relief role for the Bisons.