Dioner Navarro is still a Toronto Blue Jay, but not by his choosing.
The veteran catcher broke camp on Monday with his club in Dunedin, Florida by reiterating his desire for a trade to a team where he could be its everyday catcher.
The 31-year-old says that he requested a trade almost immediately after the Jays signed Russell Martin to a five-year deal to backstop the team
"I asked for a trade right away and up to today that's still my goal," said Navarro. "I would like to go a place where I can play everyday."
Navarro came to the Jays as a free agent in the 2013 offseason, coming over from the Chicago Cubs.
"I signed a two-year deal here to catch everyday and, unfortunately, they felt like they needed to make a move," said the native of Caracas, Venezuela.
Last season, Navarro hit .274 with 12 home runs and 69 RBI in 136 games, the most played in his 11-year career.
in November, Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos acknowledged that he was trying to accommodate Navarro's request.
“I told him, before we would even get to that topic, ‘we’ll try to find a [trade] for you if it makes sense, but at the same time we’re not just going to give you away,’” Anthopoulos said late last year. “We’ve had some pretty strong interest so far at the outset. We’ll see where it goes. But he was great. He understands. We signed an all-star and one of the best in the league. From that standpoint, he said, ‘Look, I understand. I’ll be ready to go in spring training.’”
Still, Navarro is disappointed with the way the winter played out.
"I was kind of frustrated throughout the whole offseason, a little disappointed that nothing has happened yet," he said.
As it stands, Navarro is one of two catchers on the Jays' roster behind Martin. Josh Thole, knuckleballer RA Dickey's personal catcher, was last year's back-up behind Navarro and he also returns for 2015.
On Monday, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons indicated that there might be first base and DH opportunity for Navarro if he remains a Blue Jay over the course of the season.