LAKELAND, Fla. -- With the ink dried on his contract and his physical passed, right-handed pitcher Clay Buchholz, 34, officially became the newest Blue Jay on Tuesday. The deal is for one year at $3 million.

"We've been obviously very focused on acquiring pitching depth from really the Trade Deadline and continue to add pieces," general manager Ross Atkins said. "Clay, specifically, his effectiveness last year -- almost 100 innings of really good strikeout rates, kept the ball over the plate, didn't walk guys -- was extremely effective."

With the D-backs last year, Buchholz bounced back to the ace-level performance he had shown in Boston during his two All-Star seasons in 2010 and '13. He threw 98 1/3 innings across 16 starts in '18 with a 2.01 ERA and 1.037 WHIP, both his second-best full-season totals after that '13 campaign. He also started only 16 games in '13; both were among his several injury-shortened seasons.

The Blue Jays know the pain of losing starters to injury: Marco Estrada (now with the Oakland A's), Marcus Stroman and Aaron Sanchez all missed time in 2018. Atkins and manager Charlie Montoyo hope Buchholz will deepen and strengthen the rotation, although that might happen later than Opening Day.

"Guys were hurt last year; now I think we're covered," Montoyo said. "He's here to start, but let's see where we go. We're in the middle of Spring Training right now; he hasn't thrown one inning."

Atkins also said he expected Buchholz to start, but he could begin the season in the bullpen based on how Spring Training progresses. The team has not decided when Buchholz will debut during Spring Training, but he has been throwing, Atkins said.

"He just hasn't been seeing live competition," Atkins said. "We'll be thinking about the entirety of the season and not just Opening Day. Opening Day certainly could occur more realistically if he were in the 'pen, but having him as a starting option will be also our focus. If it means it's a little bit later into the season, then we'll adjust."

Regardless, Atkins stressed Buchholz's reputation as a positive clubhouse presence and his excitement to return to the American League East, a challenging division for pitchers.

"We have some history with him, having [vice president of baseball operations] Ben Cherington here, so I feel like we know him better than some organizations would," Atkins said. "There aren't a lot of Major League Baseball players that back down from challenges, but when they articulate embracing the challenge is certainly a positive."

To make room on the 40-man roster, the Blue Jays designated outfielder Dwight Smith Jr. for assignment.