Domonic Brown, the one-time Phillies top prospect and starting outfielder who was dropped by the team in October, has agreed to a minor-league contract with the Blue Jays.
Brown briefly lived up to the considerable hype in Philadelphia, smacking 27 homers and making the All-Star team as a 25-year-old in 2013, but in two years since then he hit just .233 with a .634 OPS while missing time with injuries.
Despite seemingly being around forever Brown is still only 28 years old and he has a .740 career OPS versus right-handed pitching, potentially making him a solid fit as a platoon player. His defense is pretty rough, though.
Toronto signing Brown comes on the heels of their reported deal with Cincinnati for outfielder Jay Bruce falling through, but Brown and current projected starting left fielder Michael Saunders are both left-handed hitters and thus don’t really fit in a platoon. They could also shift Edwin Encarnacion to first base and find Brown some time at designated hitter.
Whatever the case, Brown is a low-cost, no-risk pickup with some upside if the Blue Jays can tap into his power potential.