Ken Rosenthal / FOXSports.com
Infielder Edgardo Alfonzo, released last weekend by the Angels, is on the verge of signing a minor-league contract with the Blue Jays, FOXSports.com has learned.
Alfonzo, 32, is expected to join the Jays' Class AAA affiliate and play second base. If he performs well, he eventually could take over at second for the Jays. Aaron Hill, the team's current second baseman, then would move to shortstop.
The Blue Jays demoted shortstop Russ Adams along with right-hander Josh Towers to Class AAA Wednesday night after a 10-8 loss to the Devil Rays. The team has been pursuing a trade for Angels second baseman Adam Kennedy, but the talks have not progressed.
Alfonzo was 5-for-50 (.100) with the Angels and struggled to adjust to a part-time role.
"I still believe in myself and I still believe I can play," Alfonzo told reporters last weekend. "But it's tough when you're used to playing every day, and then you're playing every five or six days or sitting there for seven innings and then coming in to hit. My body is used to playing every day."
With Adams at Class AAA, John McDonald and Luis Figueroa are expected to split time at shortstop. McDonald would return to a utility role if Alfonzo joined the Jays and Hill moved to short.
Ken Rosenthal is the senior baseball writer for FOXSports.com.