The Blue Jays have signed 28-year old lefty swinging outfielder Jeremy Reed to a minor league deal. He played in 126 games for the Mets last season and he was 39 for 161 (.242 avg, .605 OPS) with 9 runs scored and 9 RBIs. Reed has now played in 462 games in his major league career and he is 312 for 1,222 (.255 avg, .669 OPS) with 140 runs scored, 11 homers, 107 RBIs and 19 stolen bases. Reed is a outstanding defensive player so he will likely make the Blue Jays as a back-up in 2010.

The Blue Jays brought in 29-year old righty swinging catcher John Buck to start behind the plate in 2010. He played in 59 games for the Royals last season and he was 46 for 186 (.247 avg, .783 OPS) with 16 runs scored, 8 homers and 36 RBIs. Buck will provide some random power but he is a .235 career hitter in the majors and he has whiffed 500 times in 1,913 career at bats so don’t expect miracles out of him with the bat. The Blue Jays better also hope the Buck gets better on defense with them. He made 8 errors and he had 2 passed balls in on 46 games behind the plate for the Royals last season. Buck only threw out 16% of the runners trying to steal on him last season and Royals’ pitchers had a 5.18 ERA with him behind the plate. It’s hard to find anything that makes me think that Buck will play well for the Blue Jays in 2010.

36-year old righty swinging Raul Chavez will serve as Buck’s back-up behind the plate next season. He played in 51 games for the Blue Jays last season and he was 41 for 159 (.258 avg, .631 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 2 homers and 15 RBIs. He doesn’t have Buck’s power and his career .231 batting average (.570 OPS) don’t inspire much confidence in him as a hitter. But, Chavez is a better defensive catcher than Buck. He made 2 errors in 51 games and he had 5 passed balls behind the plate for the Jays last season. The passed balls are a major concern for them going forward but Chavez should improve in that area. Chavez threw out 36% of the runners trying to steal on him last season and Blue Jays’ pitchers had a 4.85 ERA with him behind the plate. Look for Chavez to get more playing time in 2010 than he got in 2009.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CATCHERS IN 2010: D

The Blue Jays have signed 30-year old lefty starter/reliever Willie Collazo to a minor league deal. Collazo pitched in 34 games (16 starts) in AAA-ball last season and he was 9-5 with a 3.70 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. His only major league experience came in 2007 with the Mets when he worked in 6 games (0 starts) and he was 0-0 with a 6.35 ERA and a 2.12 WHIP. The Blue Jays continue to stockpile lefty pitching and that’s a good thing.

The Blue Jays have signed 30-year old righty swinging outfielder Jorge Padilla to a minor league deal. Padilla played in 29 games for the Nationals last season and he was 3 for 25 (.120 avg, .274 OPS) with 3 runs scored. He also played in 95 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 114 for 311 (.367 avg, .907 OPS) with 58 runs scored, 4 homers, 21 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. Padilla will get a chance to compete this spring for a spot on the Blue Jays’ bench.

The Blue Jays have signed 24-year old lefty swinging outfielder Chris Lubanski to a minor league deal. He played in 43 games in Rookie+AAA-ball last season and he was 44 for 162 (.272 avg, .804 OPS) with 28 runs scored, 5 homers, 29 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. Lubanski has played in 717 games in his minor league career and he is 758 for 2,727 (.278 avg, .810 OPS) with 421 runs scored, 91 homers, 408 RBIs and 65 stolen bases. Lubanski was the #5 pick in the first round of the Kansas City Royals in the 2003 Draft but he has yet to make it to the major leagues.