The waiver-addicted Blue Jays have claimed Matt "The Hit Collector" Hague off waivers. The move ends Hague's seven-year tenure with the organization that drafted him in the 9th round in 2008. Hague attracted attention off and on among hardcore fans as a sleeper prospect due to a solid bat and solid eye at the plate, but as a weak defensive first baseman and an even weaker defensive third baseman, he lacked the power to enjoy real prospect status.
Ironically, Hague started increasing his power output this year, but he still slugged only .448 with Indianapolis. By then, the Pirates had moved on to non-hitting veteran Brent Morel as their corner out-machine of choice. When they picked up John Axford, they chose to designate Hague for assignment rather than several other, less potentially useful players. He finishes his career in the Pirates' system with a line of 293/367/425. In 76 major league plate appearances with the Pirates, he hit 222/263/250.