Canadian southpaw Scott Diamond signs minor league contract with Blue Jays

The Blue Jays added pitching depth on Tuesday by agreeing to terms on a minor league deal with Canadian left-hander Scott Diamond, according to Sportsnet's Ben Nicholson-Smith. Diamond will be invited to major league spring training but is most likely ticketed to begin the 2016 season in the Buffalo Bisons' starting rotation, providing depth as necessary to Toronto.

#BlueJays agree to sign Canadian lefty Scott Diamond to minor league deal per source https://t.co/BsjcdFv7FX

— Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) November 24, 2015

Diamond, a native of Guelph, Ontario, was signed as a non-drafted free agent by the Braves in 2007 before being sent to the Twins as a Rule 5 pick. He had three years of major league experience with the Twins, having his best season in 2012, when he recorded a 3.54 ERA over 27 starts, striking out batters at a 12.6% rate and walking them a meagre 4.3% of the time. His 2014 and 2015 seasons were spent entirely in the minor leagues, splitting 2014 between the Twins and the Reds before he signed with the Rays last year. In triple-A Durham, Diamond pitched to a 3.71 ERA, primarily as a starter, with a 14.6% strikeout rate and a 4.1% walk rate, his best numbers lately. He is out of minor league options.

The 29-year-old Diamond weighs 220 lb (or approximately 500,000 carats) and had recently played with Team Canada in the Premier 12 tournament. He started two games, giving up just one unearned run and seven hits over 12 innings, walking two and striking out five.