According to a new report from Shi Davidi of Sportsnet, the Toronto Blue Jays are adding former big-league catcher Drew Butera to their coaching staff.

He had been serving as the catching instructor for the Chicago White Sox for the last two years.

Davidi reports that the Jays had interest in him in the past, and they were able to secure him now.

According to additional reports, the Jays have two other hires to announce soon. Mitch Bannnon of 'The Athletic' says that one of those hires will be internal and one will be external.

About Butera

Now 42, Butera is an Indiana native who played his college baseball at the University of Central Florida. He was a fifth-round pick of the Mets in the 2005 draft, though he was drafted by the Blue Jays out of high school.

He spent 12 years in the big leagues with the Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels, Kansas City Royals, and Colorado Rockies. Mostly a backup, he appeared in fewer than 100 games in each season of his career, though he did win the World Series with the 2015 Royals, who beat the Mets. A lifetime .196 hitter, he had 19 career home runs.

He's getting in at a good time with the Blue Jays, who will enter the 2026 season as one of the favorites in the American League, especially after signing right-hander Dylan Cease and fellow righty Cody Ponce earlier this offseason.

One top of that, the Jays are expected to land another big bat, which could be Kyle Tucker, Cody Bellinger, or Bo Bichette. Ketel Marte's name has come up as a trade possibility. 

The Jays at the winter meetings

Toronto continues to remain active, and we've heard them connected to each of the players listed above, as well as relievers like Robert Suarez and Pete Fairbanks. If the Jays are to land one of those arms, they'd likely move Jeff Hoffman to the eighth-inning. He served as the closer in the 2025 season. Toronto had been in on Edwin Diaz before he signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Questions for 2026

At this point, the biggest questions are about how the Jays will round out their offseason shopping list, but beyond that, it's a question of how the Jays massage the roster issues they have, especially with Jose Berrios and Yariel Rodriguez, who are currently the odd-men out.

The Rule-5 Draft takes place on Wednesday and everyone will leave the winter meetings on Thursday.

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