The Toronto Blue Jays designated outfielder Daz Cameron for assignment on Tuesday as part of a flurry of September roster moves, ending a brief and mostly quiet stay with the club.
Rosters expanded from 26 to 28 players on Sept. 1. Toronto recalled left-hander Ricky Tiedemann and infielder Sean Keys from Triple-A Buffalo, reinstated left-hander Joe Mantiply from the 60-day injured list, and brought infielder Josh Smith back from the 10-day IL.
Right-hander C.J. Van Eyk was optioned to Buffalo. Designating Cameron opened the necessary 40-man and active-roster space. The team also announced that recently designated right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson had cleared waivers and elected free agency.
Cameron, 29, had been added to the major-league roster on Aug. 15 when first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. landed on the concussion list. In eight games he went 5-for-24 (.208) with a double, a home run, and three RBIs for a .575 OPS. He did not draw a walk and struck out in more than a quarter of his plate appearances.
The small sample tracked closely with his larger body of work: a career .200/.256/.329 line across 497 big-league plate appearances with the Detroit Tigers, Oakland Athletics, Milwaukee Brewers, and now Toronto.
The Georgia native signed a minor-league deal with the Blue Jays on July 8 after being released by the KBO’s Doosan Bears. He tore through Triple-A Buffalo, slashing .367/.462/.582 with three homers, 15 RBIs, and 10 stolen bases in 23 games before his call-up.
Those numbers bought him another look in the majors, but he had already exhausted his option years. The Jays could not send him down without first designating him.
Cameron’s path began with high expectations.
The Houston Astros selected him 37th overall in the 2015 draft—the first pick of Competitive Balance Round A—and signed him for roughly $4 million. Ranked among the top prospects in that class, he was the son of longtime major-league outfielder Mike Cameron and was viewed as a five-tool high-school talent.
Two years later he was a key piece in the package Houston sent to Detroit for Justin Verlander. The tools never fully translated at the highest level, and he has spent the better part of a decade as organizational depth.
Because the trade deadline has passed, Cameron will be placed on waivers. Given his major-league track record, interest may be limited, though his ability to play all three outfield spots and steal bases could still appeal to a club seeking late-season depth.
For Toronto, the move was straightforward roster arithmetic: September call-ups and returning veterans left no room for a player who could not be optioned.
