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#BlueJays claim Jesus Montero off waivers from #Mariners.
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) March 28, 2016
Montero being gone is a clear signal that we no longer live in the house that Jack Z built. Dipoto came in with a sledgehammer and an HGTV crew and bashed right through it. He's taken down the decorative columns in the living room and pulled up the carpet to let the hardwoods shine. He's knocked down the weird pony wall in the foyer to create an open concept design. Those fixtures you're admiring were sourced from around the globe. It's the same house, footprint wise, but it feels like a new space entirely.
As for the Blue Jays, Montero is a perplexing choice for them, as the team is rich in bat-first players who shuffle between DH/1B/OF positions. Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion are both bat-first players who split time at the DH spot. However, Encarnacion has missed most of spring training with a first tooth abscess and then an oblique pull, and there are questions about his readiness for the season. Also, Encarnacion is a free agent at the end of the year, and the Blue Jays may not want to pay a premium for the aging slugger. Ex-Mariner Justin Smoak holds down half of first base but only hit .226 in his 328 PAs last season, despite how it felt when we were watching him in the playoffs. Chris Colabello had a career year in 2015, but as is pointed out here, seems doomed to regression. There might be a spot for Montero if any of these players become injured/fall off an offensive cliff.
Baseball is full of redemption stories, as we saw with the phoenix-like rise of Franklin Gutierrez last year. Despite the weight he lost, the growing up he did, and the team's new regime, Seattle will always be tied to failure for Jesus Montero, an invisible anchor he was never able to shed. Now he gets a fresh start with a new team, on the other side of the continent, to be a Blue Jay. Fly free, Jesus.