Graterol was designated for assignment by the Angels on Nov. 22 and then claimed by the Cincinnati Reds on Nov. 28. And then the real fun began.
He was designated for assignment by the Reds in December, and claimed off waivers by the Arizona Diamondbacks on Dec. 24. Arizona designated him for assignment on Jan. 13, after signing Chris Iannetta.
The Angels claimed Graterol off waivers on Jan. 19. The Angels waived Graterol again and the Blue Jays claimed him on Jan. 23. Apparently, all the clubs wanted him but just didn’t have room on the 40-man rosters.
But now the 28-year-old has landed in Dunedin hoping to impress the Jays enough that he might stick around for a while, or at least start the season with Triple-A Buffalo.
“It’s awesome,” said Graterol. “It’s great. When you look at the roster and I see I have the opportunity to play, I said thank to the Blue Jays for giving me the opportunity.”
The 6-foot-1, 205-pound catcher admitted that there were times during the off-season when was getting anxious wondering where he would land next.
“It was crazy you know. I was playing winter ball (in Venezuela) at that time so I just had to concentrate on the games,” he said. “So I just talked to my agent and he said, ‘Don’t be crazy, relax. Just keep going. I know it’s crazy right now. But it’s okay, just relax and keep breathing. Whatever’s going to happen will happen.’”
Graterol put together a .270BA .320OPB .335SLG .655OPS slash line in the minors and is known as a good defensive catcher and good game caller. He’s excited about getting to work with Martin in spring training.
“I asked Russ how he’s been able to be around for so many years (in the Majors) and he said, ‘You know, just be a good teammate, try to help the other guys and if you want to be better, your pitchers have to be better. And always compete. Compete like a winner,’” said Graterol. “I watched him a lot when I was younger. He’s a really good guy and now that I’ve met him, it’s just awesome.”
Toronto manager John Gibbons, a former catcher, has liked what he has seen from Graterol so far.
“He’s a big, strong kid, does a nice job behind the plate, looks good in BP right now so we’ll see how it all plays out,” said Gibbons. “We’re glad to have him. We’ve heard nothing about good things about him."
