Jays Sign Four to Minor League Contracts

The Blue Jays have signed four to minor league contracts:

• Rob Brantly, Catcher
• Paul Fry, LHP
• Drew Hutchison, RHP
• Julian Fernandez, RHP

You’ll remember Hutchison. He played parts of four seasons with the Jays and was our opening day starter in 2015. In 2014 he made 32 starts and had an 11-13 record with a 4.48 ERA in 184.2 innings.

Last year he pitched in 28 games, making 18 starts for the Tigers. He went 3-9, with a 4.53 ERA. I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets into a few games for us this year. He’s 32 now. I have him ahead of Casey Lawrence on the depth chart for starting pitchers.

Fry has spent parts of the last five seasons in the majors, mostly with the Orioles (pitching one inning for the Diamondbacks last year. He has a 4.82 ERA in 188 games, all in relief. He’s 31. You can never have too many lefty relievers.

Rob Brantly is a 33-year-old catcher. He’s played 135 games in the majors, playing for the Marlins, White Sox, Phillies, Giants and Yankees. In 456 at-bats, he has a .225/.287/.326 batting line.

Fernandez was announced a few days ago. He has been in the Rockies system for the past seven years but has only had 6.2 innings in the majors. Last year he pitched for Albuquerque and had a 6.63 ERA in 57 innings, all out of the pen. He had 65 strikeouts and 32 walks. He’s 27. He throws hard, getting reaching 100 on the fastball.