White Sox trade Dioner Navarro to Blue Jays for Colton Turner
By Ted Fleming
Catcher Alex Avila is activated off the disabled list and will take Dioner Navarro’s place on the active roster, while Colton Turner will be sent to Double-A Birmingham.
The Toronto Blue Jays have traded left-handed pitcher Colton Turner to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for catcher Dioner Navarro. The 32-year-old backstop is returning to Toronto after spending the last two seasons there.
Navarro had a .210/.267/.339 slashline with six homers and 32 RBI in 85 games for the Pale Hose this year splitting time with Alex Avila, who was just activated off his rehab assignment with the Triple-A Charlotte Knights. He has played for seven teams over the course of his 13-year career. His best season came in 2008 with the Tampa Bay Rays where he was named to his only All-Star Game.
A native of Venezuela, Navarro was signed as an amateur free agent in 2000 by the New York Yankees and played just five games in the Bronx before being traded to the Dodgers.
Turner has never played above Double-A in his four minor league seasons after being taken in the 21st round of the 2012 MLB June Amateur Draft out of Texas State University. He has split the 2016 season with three clubs advancing from Low-A Lansing to High-A Dunedin to Double-A New Hampshire, going 3-1 with a solid 1.33 ERA and 1.09 WHIP in 44 games — all in relief. He will be assigned to the Sox Double-A team, the Birmingham Barons.
Avila was in his second rehab assignment with the Knights and over nine games he had .333/.467/.500 splits with a homer and three ribbies. The 29-year old had been hobbling around with a .200 average over his last seven games before landing on the disabled list and overall was hitting .236/.362/.358 in 41 contests.
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The Hialeah, FL native is in his first season with the White Sox after spending the previous seven years with the Tigers where he was named to the All-Star squad in 2011. He was taken in the fifth round of the 2008 draft.