Blue Jays pick up Andy Dirks and Jeff Francis

The Blue Jays claimed outfielder Andy Dirks off waivers from the Tigers and signed Jeff Francis to a minor league contract.

Dirks,28, is a left-handed batter, he's played all 3 outfield spots in 3 seasons with the Tigers. In 297 MLB games, he hit .276/.332/.413  with 24 home runs and 100 RBI. He missed all of 2014 with a back problem.  Fangraphs has him at a 3.4 career WAR. He doesn't have much for batting splits, he has a .751 OPS against RHP, .721 against LHP. He could be a nice pickup. Dirks is his eligible for arbitration for the second time this off-season.

Francis, 33,  is a left-handed pitcher, born in Vancouver BC. He has a 71-80 record with a 4.95 ERA in 10 seasons, 240 games, 217 starts. His best stretch was from 2005 to 2007, when he went 44-32 over 3 seasons with the Rockies, with a 4.63 ERA in 99 starts. Last year Francis pitched in 12 MLB games split between 3 different teams, the Reds, A's and Yankees. He had a 5.85 ERA in 20 innings.