Blue Jays designate Teahen for assignment

Share

The Blue Jays designated former White Sox infielder Mark Teahen for assignment Monday, ending the 30-year-old's short tenure north of the border. Teahen was sent to Toronto as a major salary dump along with Edwin Jackson for Jason Frasor and Zach Stewart last July.

Teahen had little use as a member of the Blue Jays' bench, appearing in just 27 games and seeing 47 plate appearances.

The subject of one of the more head-scratching contracts of the last few years, Teahen hit just .239 with a .310 on-base percentage and .356 slugging percentage -- good for a satanic .666 OPS. Following two solid years in 2006 and 2007 with the Royals, Teahen's offensive production fell off considerably in 2008 and 2009 -- and coupled with poor defense, Teahen didn't have much value as a starting position player when the Sox dealt for him after the '09 season.

That trend continued away from Kansas City, as Teahen has posted a negative WAR in each of the last four seasons. But Teahen received a three-year, 14 million contract extension from the White Sox in 2009. Even at the modest yearly salaries of 3.75 million and 4.75 million, Teahen's production was unable to match his salary.

Given Teahen's 2011 struggles against right-handed pitching and his suspect defense -- although he was much-improved with the glove at third base last year -- he may have a tough time catching on somewhere as a backup.

Contact Us