March 24, 2022

By Kevin Glew

Canadian Baseball Network

Former Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Dalton Pompey (Mississauga, Ont.) has signed with the Intercounty Baseball League’s Guelph Royals.

The deal was announced by the Royals on social media on Thursday.

"We are very excited to welcome Dalton to the ball club and into our community," said Royals president and owner Shawn Fuller in a team statement. "It's not often that someone with his experience at the Major League level and who's a Canadian becomes available. We're eager to add him into the mix and work on building the next chapter in Royals’ history together.”

Pompey, who turned 29 in December, spent part of the 2021 season in the Los Angeles Angels’ organization. The speedy outfielder signed a minor league deal with the Angels last May. After starting the season with the double-A Rocket City Trash Pandas and batting .247 with five home runs in 27 games, he was promoted to the triple-A Salt Lake Bees, where he went 11-for-30 (.367 batting average) in 10 games before he was released.

Pompey spent part of 2020 in the Arizona Diamondbacks’ organization and then played four games for the Sugar Land Lightning Sloths of the independent Constellation Energy League. This came after parts of 10 seasons in the Blue Jays’ organization.

Selected by the Blue Jays in the 16th round of the 2010 MLB draft, Pompey got his first taste of big league action in 2014 and he began the following season as the Blue Jays’ starting centre fielder and served as a valuable pinch runner for the club in their 2015 playoff run. Unfortunately, in the ensuing seasons, he was hampered by a variety of injuries – including three concussions.

In all, he has competed in parts of four big league campaigns with the Blue Jays. In 627 minor league games, he has batted .278 and posted a .364 on-base percentage, while swiping 169 bases.

The Royals will open their 2022 Intercounty Baseball League season on May 21 at home against the Toronto Maple Leafs at David E Hastings Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 pm.