According to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick, the Blue Jays have expressed interest in free agent catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia in a possible backup catcher role.

The switch-hitter would fill the hole left by recently departed free agents Josh Thole and Dioner Navarro, who split time behind Russell Martin in 2016. Saltalamacchia played in 92 games for the Detroit Tigers last season, batting .171/.284/.346 with 12 home runs and 38 RBI. Although the 31-year-old struggled offensively with a batting average below the Mendoza Line, he does provide a fair bit of power from both sides of the plate when Martin needs a day off, averaging 15 home runs a year over the past six seasons.

However, Saltalamacchia is a bit of a question mark defensively, only throwing out 22 per cent of stolen base attempts against him for his career.

But the offensive production may outweigh the defensive shortcomings as the Blue Jays' back-up catching options thin out with only three weeks until pitchers and catchers report to Dunedin for spring training. The team has been linked to many different catchers since the winter meetings, including Bobby Wilson, Chris Gimenez, Chris Ianetta and most recently, Kurt Suzuki, who have all signed elsewhere.