Blue Jays, A.J. Cole have Minors deal (source)

TORONTO -- The Blue Jays have agreed to a Minor League deal with right-handed reliever A.J. Cole that includes an invitation to Spring Training, a source confirmed to MLB.com.

The deal was first reported by Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi and has yet to be officially confirmed by the club.

Cole, 27, will join the Blue Jays after appearing in 25 games for the Indians in 2019, where he posted a 3.81 ERA with 30 strikeouts over 26 innings.

This move also brings things full circle, in a way. Cole was designated for assignment last offseason by the Yankees when they added shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, who had been released by the Blue Jays during the Winter Meetings the month prior.

Cole represents the first of what is expected to be several bullpen additions by the Blue Jays this offseason. The organization has had plenty of success finding right-handed relievers on smaller deals or Minor League agreements in recent seasons, including Joe Smith, Seunghwan Oh, John Axford, David Phelps and Daniel Hudson. In many cases, those arms have gone on to be valuable trade chips at the Trade Deadline, with Hudson -- now a World Series champion -- the best example from 2019.

Beyond the surface-level comparisons, Cole also fits the Blue Jays’ model more specifically as a pitcher with a high spin rate on his heavy fastball. That spin rate of 2,406 RPM, according to Statcast, ranks Cole in the 82nd percentile in Major League Baseball. He also leans on his slider, which he threw at a nearly equal rate to his fastball after being a more slider-dominant pitcher in 2018 with the Yankees and Nationals.

Just how Cole fits into the Blue Jays’ bullpen picture remains to be seen, and will depend largely on who joins him between now and Spring Training, but there are plenty of opportunities available in Toronto. Ken Giles may be the only member of the bullpen who is currently locked in to a role -- as closer -- and even that could change with Giles expected to be one of the hottest names on the trade market as the Winter Meetings approach in December. There’s always the potential for an opener role in Toronto, too, when you’re talking about a hard-throwing right-hander.

Cole came through the Minor Leagues as a starter after being selected by the Nationals in the fourth round of the 2010 Draft as a high schooler, but he made the full switch to relief in 2018 and is expected to stay in that role. He finished this past season on the injured list in Cleveland as he dealt with a shoulder impingement.

In other news on Monday, the Blue Jays traded reliever Justin Shafer to the Reds in exchange for cash considerations, the club announced. Shafer, 27, has been with the organization since being selected in the eighth round of the 2014 Draft and made his MLB debut in 2018. The right-hander posted a 3.86 ERA over 39 2/3 innings this past season, but was recently designated for assignment when the Blue Jays added two players to their roster ahead of the Rule 5 Draft deadline.