Blue Jays Grab Backstop Jose Molina

According to MLB.com's Jordan Bastian, the Toronto Blue Jays have signed free agent catcher Jose Molina to a one-year deal:

The Jays have signed C Jose Molina to a 1-year contract worth $400K with incentives. Includes a club option worth $1.2 million for '11.

Molina will report to camp as the backup to new starter John Buck. Raul Chavez and prospect J.P. Arencibia are also in camp, but Chavez is around on a minor league contract and Arencibia could use more development time in AAA, making Molina the heavy favorite to land the reserve role.

Molina doesn't hit. He's not known for his hitting, and given his career .609 OPS, it's good that he isn't. He doesn't hit for contact, he doesn't have much discipline, and he's not a real threat to go deep. What he has is a very strong reputation for being a good receiver. He's one of those catchers who's said to call a good game and work well with the pitching staff, and while such a skill can neither be proven nor disproven, one can at least understand the potential appeal given Toronto's young pitching staff. Young pitchers allegedly need guidance, and few catchers supposedly offer as much guidance as Molina.

Given that the Rangers had kept their eye on Molina, it will be interesting to see if this causes them to ramp up their mild pursuit of Rod Barajas.

Follow the story at Jays blog Bluebird Banter.