The Blue Jays have removed Brian Serven from their roster through outright assignment.
The Blue Jays revealed tonight that catcher Brian Serven has been assigned outright to Triple-A Buffalo. There was no prior indication from Toronto about Serven being placed on waivers, and it seems they discreetly removed him from the roster last week. This move technically reduces their 40-man roster to 39, but the signing of Yariel Rodríguez is pending, which will bring it back to full capacity once finalized.
Toronto recently claimed Brian Serven off waivers just two weeks ago. Having moved between several teams this winter, the former fifth-round pick of the Rockies faced a designation for assignment by Colorado in early January. The Cubs initially claimed him, but he was DFA’d within a week. Employing a similar strategy, Toronto successfully retained Serven after slipping him through unclaimed.
Serven, a product of Arizona State, has seen action in 73 MLB games over the past two seasons, predominantly serving as a backup catcher to Elías Díaz in Denver. During this time, he posted a batting line of .195/.248/.314 over 228 plate appearances. At the Triple-A level, Serven has accumulated 534 plate appearances with a slash line of .238/.305/.450, including a .199/.241/.331 performance in 38 games last year.
Known for his above-average pitch framing in MLB, Serven will join the Blue Jays as a non-roster depth catcher and is likely to receive an invitation to the big league Spring Training. With Danny Jansen and Alejandro Kirk as the only catchers on the 40-man roster, Serven provides valuable depth. Unless there are further acquisitions this offseason, he stands a good chance of being reselected to the MLB club if either Jansen or Kirk requires time on the injured list.
