Parent club Toronto Blue Jays signed outfielder from Montreal area as a free agent after he stole 83 bases in 88 game in independent ball last summer<\/p>\n
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Published Apr 08, 2026 \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 4 minute read<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n You can save this article by registering for free here<\/a>. Or sign-in<\/a> if you have an account.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s betting that Vancouver Canadians outfielder Mathieu Vallee sprints his way into fan favourite status at Nat Bailey Stadium in short order.<\/p>\n Advertisement 2<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. 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Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events.Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account.The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.<\/p>\n REGISTER \/ SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.<\/p>\n THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an Account<\/p>\n or<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Vallee, 25, is a native of Montreal suburb Saint-Eustache who stands all of 5-foot-9 and 175 pounds and signed a minor league free-agent contract with the parent club Toronto Blue Jays in February after stealing 83 bases in a mere 88 games last summer for the Frontier independent league\u2019s Trois-Rivi\u00e8res Aigles.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n He had family and friends who cheered on the Montreal Expos and the likes of Vladimir Guerrero, Sr. until the club left town for Washington at the close of the 2004 season. Vallee had just turned four years old then. Like the majority of his circle, Vallee became a Blue Jays fan and he now finds himself a member of that very organization, alongside the likes of Vladimir Guerrero, Jr.<\/p>\n The C\u2019s have been a Toronto farm team since 2011. They are in the midst of their first home series of the high-A Northwest League campaign, playing the Eugene Emeralds in a six-game set at the Nat that runs through Sunday. Check the team website for tickets<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, I was going to roll with the first offer I got, the first team that wanted to give me a contract,\u201d said Vallee, who admits he talked with the Arizona Diamondbacks as well. \u201cThe fact it was the Jays is a bonus. A big, big bonus.<\/p>\n Canucks Report<\/p>\n Thanks for signing up!<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Advertisement 3<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n \u201cBeing a guy from Montreal, I watched as many Blues Jays games as I could with my buddies from high school. To be in the organization is special to me. I have family who don\u2019t really know much about baseball, but they know about the Blue Jays. Everyone in Canada knows about the Blue Jays. I\u2019m really proud, and my family and my buddies are all really proud.\u201d<\/p>\n He played hockey, soccer and baseball growing up, and opted to focus on baseball in his late teens. The lefty-hitting, righty-throwing Vallee<\/a> bounced between three different American post-secondary schools, seeing duty at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, Dallas Baptist University and Southern Illinois University Carbondale. His best season was likely his senior year at Southern Illinois, when hit .341, with five home runs, 41 runs batted in and 15 steals in 59 games.<\/p>\n He got a chance to play in a collegiate summer Major League Baseball Draft League along the way, but that\u2019s as close as he could get to big-league interest.<\/p>\n Baseball fundamentally changed in 2023. Looking to bring back the speed aspect, those in charge of the majors instituted rules to limit pickoff attempts while also making bases larger. In that first season with the changes, steals went up 41 per cent in the National and American Leagues combined, winding up at 3,503.<\/p>\n Advertisement 4<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n The two circuits have broken the 3,000 plateau in swipes the past two seasons, too. Before that, the bigs had been over that mark only three times since 2000.<\/p>\n Vallee had two steals in 21 games with Trois-Rivi\u00e8res in 2024, but it all clicked for him last season. The Frontier League record for steals in a single campaign had been 75, set by Gateway Grizzlies outfielder Jairus Richards in 2023. Vallee had seven steals alone in a 3-2 loss on July 18 versus the Tri-City ValleyCats<\/a>.<\/p>\n Trois-Rivi\u00e8res wound up last in its five-team North Division, finishing 38-57. Vallee hit .352, with one homer and 41 RBI, to go along with the chaos and calamity caused on the basepaths.<\/p>\n \u201cAt first, I wasn\u2019t counting them up. I was just playing the game,\u201d Vallee said of his thievery last year. \u201cAbout a third of the way through the season, I started to think that I could get a lot of bases. At the all-star game at the halfway point, other coaches were coming up and saying, \u2018You have to steal 100 this year.\u2019 I told them that I didn\u2019t know if I had that in me. But getting the league record, I loved that.\u201d<\/p>\n Vancouver started the season on the road with a series versus the Tri-City Dust Devils last weekend, and Vallee swiped a bag in Game 2 of the campaign. He banged up his ankle during the set, too, and was placed on the seven-day disabled list this week, but says he doesn\u2019t expect to be out for any extended period.<\/p>\n Advertisement 5<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n There have been players who have made their way from the Frontier League to the majors. That list includes Blue Jays reliever Tommy Nance, Athletics farmhand reliever Nick Anderson and one-time Seattle Mariners closer George Sherrill.<\/p>\n C\u2019s fans of a more seasoned vintage might link Vallee\u2019s tale, too, to that of Roemon Fields, the centre-fielder on the 2014 Vancouver team<\/a> who was out of the game altogether and working as postman in Seattle when his junior college coach was short a player for a 2013 World Baseball Challenge showcase tournament in Prince George and talked Fields into suiting up. The Blue Jays saw him there, signed him as a free agent, and he stole 48 bases in 72 games for Vancouver in that first season.<\/p>\n He wound up playing six seasons in the Toronto system, getting all the way to triple-A before retiring.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been told to use my strengths: getting on base, running,\u201d Vallee said when asked about what it will take for him to advance through the minors. \u201cThe reasons I got picked up in the first place \u2026 I\u2019ve got to do the same things here.\u201d<\/p>\n sewen@postmedia.com<\/a><\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n 10 things to know as the Vancouver Canadians kick off a new season<\/p>\n![\"vallee\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0409-canadians-vallee.jpg\")
Parent club Toronto Blue Jays signed outfielder from Montreal area as a free agent after he stole 83 bases in 88 game in independent ball last summer Photo by Mark SteffensArticle content<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/dcs-static.gprod.postmedia.digital\/20.9.1\/websites\/images\/identity\/logo-identity-vp.svg\"){kind=logo}
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