Blue Jays Claim Former Cubs Catcher

Former Chicago Cubs catcher Brian Serven may end up being the answer to a trivia question one day. That all depends on how the careers of Michael Busch and Yency Almonte play out.

Last week after the Cubs acquired both Busch, a corner infielder, and Almonte, a relief pitcher, in a trade from the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Cubs needed to make a space on the 40-man roster to accommodate them.

Serven was the price the Cubs paid, as they designated him for assignment.

On Tuesday, Serven found a home as he was claimed off waivers by the Toronto Blue Jays, per MLB Trade Rumors. That move also takes up the final spot on the Blue Jays’ 40-man roster.

Serven made his MLB debut in 2022 with the Colorado Rockies, where he played in 62 games and batted .203 with six home runs and 16 RBI. In 2023 he was limited to 11 games, batting .130 with one RBI. He spent a good portion of the 2023 season on the injured list at Triple-A Albuquerque.

The Cubs claimed Serven off waivers on Jan. 5 and then designated him for assignment six days later.

The 25-year-old was the Rockies’ fifth-round pick in 2016 out of Arizona State.

With the Blue Jays Serven will now fight for an Opening-Day roster spot with Danny Jansen and Alejandro Kirk, the only two catchers listed on the Blue Jays’ 40-man roster. The Blue Jays are coming off making the AL playoffs as Wild Card team where they lost to the Minnesota Twins in a three-games sweep.