Toronto Blue Jays add versaility with acquisition of Cliff Pennington

The switch-hitter has started at shortstop, second base, third base and left field this year.

The Toronto Blue Jays have completed a deal for depth on Saturday, acquiring veteran infielder Cliff Pennington from Arizona.

Pennington heard trade rumours before the non-waiver trade deadline passed but was caught off guard by Saturday’s deal.

Pennington came up with Josh Donaldson in the Athletics system and appeared in the post-season for Oakland in 2012, so whenever there’s action, he feels prepared to handle whatever is thrown his way.

Minor-league shortstop Dawel Lugo, who’d been playing at Single-A Lansing, went to Arizona.

Pennington has a.237/.314/.281 slash line with one home run and 10 RBIs this season in 135 at-bats, so he won’t be a threatening hitter off the bench, but instead serve as an insurance policy behind Ryan Goins and Troy Tulowitzki. The Blue Jays also received cash from the Diamondbacks. 257 with 4 HR and 44 RBI’s through 98 games.

The trade comes just hours after Toronto manager John Gibbons told reporters that second baseman Devon Travis is still being bothered by a lingering shoulder injury.

The 20-year-old Lugo has hit.

To fill Pennington’s roster spot, the Diamondbacks selected infielder-outfielder Jamie Romak from Triple-A Reno.