The Blue Jays have signed 36-year old righty reliever Francisco Cordero to a 1-year, $4.5 million dollar deal. Cordero pitched in 68 games (0 starts) for the Reds last year and he was 5-3 with 37 saves, a 2.45 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP. He has now pitched in 753 games (0 starts) in his first 13 years in the majors and he is 44-45 with 327 saves, a 3.17 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. Cordero is currently #12 in major league history in saves with 327 of them. Cordero will be Sergio Santos’ set-up man when the 2012 season starts but they could switch roles if needed. This was another good pickup for the Blue Jays.

The Blue Jays have signed 44-year old switch-hitting infielder Omar Vizquel to a minor league deal. Vizquel played in 58 games for the White Sox last year and he was 42 for 167 (.251 avg, .592 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 0 homers, 8 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He has now played in 2,908 games in his first 23 years in the majors and he is 2,841 of 10,433 (.272 avg, .690 OPS) with 1,432 runs scored, 80 homers, 944 RBIs and 401 stolen bases. Vizquel has earned 11 Gold Gloves and he has been on 3 All-Star teams in his major league career so far. He will bring veteran leadership and a solid glove to the Blue Jays’ bench in 2012. This was a good move for the Jays.