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Dioner Navarro has signed a two-year deal with the Toronto Blue Jays. The deal will pay him $3 million in 2014 and $5 million in 2015, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.
dioner navarro gets $3M in '14, $5M in '14 for $8M total. #jays
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) December 2, 2013
The former Ray reinvigorated his career with the Cubs by slugging a higher number than he ever has before. Here is a quick rundown of Navarro's offensive career. All numbers are from FanGraphs.
| Year | PA | wRC+ | BB% | K% | ISO | BABIP |
| 2005 | 199 | 97 | 10.1% | 10.6% | 0.102 | 0.296 |
| 2006 | 302 | 78 | 10.3% | 16.9% | 0.101 | 0.292 |
| 2007 | 434 | 66 | 7.6% | 15.4% | 0.129 | 0.294 |
| 2008 | 470 | 105 | 7.2% | 10.4% | 0.112 | 0.318 |
| 2009 | 410 | 54 | 4.4% | 12.4% | 0.104 | 0.231 |
| 2010 | 142 | 51 | 8.5% | 14.1% | 0.065 | 0.223 |
| 2011 | 202 | 65 | 9.9% | 17.3% | 0.131 | 0.210 |
| 2012 | 73 | 96 | 2.7% | 16.4% | 0.159 | 0.321 |
| 2013 | 266 | 136 | 8.6% | 13.5% | 0.192 | 0.307 |
It's clear what Navarro was. He was a slap-hitting catcher with good control of his bat and a decent idea of the strike zone, but as with many weak-hitting players, pitchers were able to knock the bat out of his hands, leading to low BABIPs and poor ISOs. It's less clear what he is now. In 2012, it seemed like Navi was trading walks for power, but in 2013 the walks came back.
So is he the second coming of Ben Zobrist? A decent defender at a premium defensive position who at age 29 has finally learned that he can swing hard while still commanding the strike zone? Or is Navi a small sample size mirage poised for some hard lessons in the AL East? I'll go this far in terms of a bold prediction. Dioner Navarro will outproduce J. P. Arencibia in 2014.
