Blue Jays add Pennington to 25-man roster

NEW YORK -- The Blue Jays officially added middle infielder Cliff Pennington to their 25-man roster and optioned Munenori Kawasaki to Triple-A Buffalo on Sunday morning.

Pennington was acquired in a trade with the D-backs on Saturday for shortstop prospect Dawel Lugo during Toronto's 6-0 win over New York. He is expected to see some time at second base and will also be the primary backup at shortstop and third.

"He's a good, solid utility player," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said on Saturday. "He can play second base, shortstop, you can move him everywhere. He's a pretty good runner, switch-hitter."

The 31-year-old Pennington appeared in 72 games for Arizona this season and hit .237 with a .595 OPS. The offensive numbers aren't great, but he does provide some added insurance in the event injured second baseman Devon Travis continues to experience difficulty in returning from a left shoulder injury.

Kawasaki has appeared in 14 games for Toronto, but he received just 18 at-bats in limited action. He will temporarily join the Bisons, but is expected to return when rosters expand at the beginning of September.

Pennington is a .248 hitter with a .661 OPS in 761 career games. He has appeared in at least 68 games during each of the past three seasons, but hasn't been an everyday player since 2012 in Oakland.