Jon

Jay

The 37-year-old outfielder was a second round selection by the Cardinals from the 2006 draft. He debuted with the club in 2010 and went on to play six seasons there before departing. In total, he played 12 years in the big leagues for the Cardinals, Padres, Cubs, Royals, Diamondbacks, White Sox and Angels. For his career, he hit .283/.348/.373 with 37 homers, 341 RBI and 55 stolen bases in 1201 career ballgames.

Jay was released earlier this month after being designated for assignment. The 36-year-old veteran outfielder appeared in five games with the Angels earlier this season. There’s a chance he latches on somewhere as organizational outfield depth down the home stretch.

Jay is now officially off the 40-man roster after logging just 14 plate appearances for the Halos.

Jay has been summoned to ostensibly take the roster spot of future Hall of Fame first baseman Albert Pujols, who was designated for assignment earlier on Thursday. The 36-year-old outfielder failed to make the Angels’ Opening Day roster, but elected to remain with the organization on a minor-league deal. He’ll function as a reserve outfielder at the big-league level moving forward.

Jay passed through waivers unclaimed after being designated for assignment last week. The 36-year-old outfielder will remain with the Angels as organizational depth. There’s a chance he could be back up in the big leagues if superstar center fielder Mike Trout is forced to miss extended time due to an elbow issue.

Jay’s tenure with the big league club lasted just a couple of days after having his contract purchased on Tuesday. The 36-year-old went just 1-for-8 (.125) with a pair of strikeouts during his limited action with the Halos. Scott Schebler had his contract purchased on Friday and will take Jay’s place on the active roster.

Jay will start in left field and bat eighth for the Angels on Tuesday night against the Royals and left-hander Danny Duffy. He’s filling the roster spot vacated by Juan Lagares, who’s on the IL with a calf issue.

Jay was released earlier this week, but has elected to remain with the Angels organization. The 36-year-old veteran outfielder will serve as depth at Triple-A to open the 2021 campaign.

The Angels would have had to pay Jay a $100,000 retention bonus Saturday, which is why they made the move now. Jay is just 2-for-29 at the plate this spring and the 36-year-old hasn’t hit much at all for a few years.

Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports that Jay will make $1.1 million if in the majors. The 35-year-old appeared in 50 games for the Diamondbacks over the truncated season, and hit just .160 with a .451 OPS in 50 at-bats. He’ll have a chance to win a backup outfield spot with the Halos, but is unlikely to be anything more than that at this point in his career.