Luis Ayala opted out of his minor-league deal with the Orioles last week and was reportedly headed to pitch in the Mexican League, but now Zach Links of MLB Trade Rumors says the 35-year-old reliever will instead sign a new minor-league contract with the Blue Jays.
Ayala posted a nice-looking 2.58 ERA in 164 innings from 2011-2013, but a poor strikeout rate and mediocre raw stuff kept teams from trusting him. He’s bounced around a lot and has recently been passed over for call-ups back to the majors, but as far as organizational depth goes he’s a nice pickup for Toronto.
He’ll head to Triple-A for now, perhaps with another opt-out clause looming.
