The Athletics have claimed Danny Valencia off waivers from the Blue Jays, according to a team announcement. A source confirms that Oakland has been awarded Valencia off the claim, and that the sides do not need to work out a trade before he becomes a member of the Athletics' roster.
Valencia was designated for assignment on Saturday by the Jays as part of a roster crunch caused by the trade deadline addition of Ben Revere, and was chosen to be the roster casualty when the team decided to hold onto Chris Colabello. As we reported yesterday, the White Sox, Rangers and Orioles all had interest in obtaining Valencia if he fell to them on waivers, but Oakland's high-priority waiver spot allowed them to make the claim before any of the other interested teams had the chance.
Valencia, 30, hit a strong .296/.331/.506 for Toronto this season with seven homers, including a .316/.366/.461 line against left-handers. Oakland will use the outfielder/third baseman as depth behind Brett Lawrie at third base and a platoon partner for Sam Fuld in left field, and will have Valencia under team control through the 2017 season.