TORONTO -- Michael Barrett understands the hesitation teams might have felt when weighing whether or not to bring him into the fold this winter. Considering the type of freak injury the catcher suffered last season, he is well aware that he's viewed as a risk.

When the Blue Jays offered Barrett a Minor League contract, though, he looked at it as a way to prove he was back at full strength and an opportunity to do so with a team that has a chance at being competitive. Barrett, the victim of an ill-fated foul ball to the face last July, knows there are no guarantees this spring, but he's looking forward to doing all he can to make Toronto's roster.

"I'm excited to have an opportunity to get back out there and show people I'm healthy -- especially after the injury I had," Barrett said during a phone interview. "Whenever you sustain an injury like that, teams get concerned. I have a clean bill of health, but it's tough to convince teams of that.

"The Blue Jays decided to take a chance on me, and I'm really excited. I'd have to say that this is the most excited I've been in a long time for Spring Training."

Barrett signed a Minor League contract with the Jays on Dec. 30 and was given an invitation to Spring Training, as well as a club option that could keep him in Toronto in 2010. Toronto also handed a Minor League deal to catcher Raul Chavez, adding another player to the mix for the backup role behind starter Rod Barajas.

Last season, the 32-year-old Barrett was limited to 30 games due to injuries, hitting .202 when he did get into the lineup with San Diego. A right elbow injury landed Barrett on the disabled list in April, but it was the foul ball on July 2 that ended his season. That day, Barrett offered at a 1-2 fastball from Colorado's Ubaldo Jimenez that sailed high and inside. The baseball jumped off his bat and struck him between the eyes.

"What's amazing is I never lost consciousness," Barrett said. "And I say 'amazing' because I have experienced a concussion before and it was under a lot less severe circumstances. So, the fact that I was on the ground, laying there trying to figure out how I could stay in the game was really a blessing, because I didn't need any more concussions."

Barrett might have wanted to stay in the game at that moment, but the injury was serious enough to require three operations. The catcher fractured the frontal bone in his forehead, shattered his nose and broke an orbital bone. For several weeks after the injury, Barrett suffered from blurry vision and persistent headaches.

"It was a pretty intense surgery," Barrett said. "There were a lot of different procedures done. ... I had three specialists perform the surgery. I was very fortunate to have three of the best doctors in the world."

Now, fewer than six weeks removed from the beginning of Spring Training, Barrett said he's back at full strength. He hoped to return to games before the end of last season, but the Padres understandably were cautious about his return to the field.

"The Padres didn't want to push the envelope and take any chances with my recovery," Barrett said. "I think that was fair. I appreciate that for the long term. ... Now that I have a clean bill of health, I feel like my body is fresh, because in the last year and half I haven't played a whole lot. So my body feels good, and everything that went with the surgery has gone great and I feel 100 percent."

That would be great news for the Blue Jays, who could benefit from the kind of offensive numbers Barrett produced earlier in his career with the Expos, Cubs and Padres. His best stretch in the batter's box came from 2004-06, when Barrett averaged 16 home runs and nearly 60 RBIs each season with Chicago.

Barrett is hoping his history as a good mentor also can help his case for a role with the Blue Jays, who have a number of young pitchers in the mix for jobs this spring.

"One of the reputations that I have," Barrett said, "one of the good things that I have, is I've been around a lot of young pitchers. I have that going for me -- I'm good at helping pitchers develop. ... I'm definitely excited about [Toronto's] young arms. When I look at the young arms there, I think about some of the success that Tampa Bay has had with some of their young pitchers.

"I think that's very realistic with the guys that I've seen pitch for Toronto. And, when you look at them on paper, you realize that there are a lot of great things that can happen this year."

Another reason Barrett was drawn to the Blue Jays was the presence of pitching coach Brad Arnsberg. The pair worked together in Montreal from 2000-01, and Barrett has continued to follow Arnsberg's philosophy over the years.

"I'm a big fan of his," Barrett said. "I kind of know what he's all about. His philosophy is something that I've carried with me since then. He's very aggressive and has an attack mentality. That's something that, for a catcher, I feel like is great to have. There are differences between pitching coaches out there, and Arnsberg is someone who likes to go at people."

Barrett also liked the fact that Toronto's team consisted of a number of veteran players.

"There are more veterans on the Blue Jays' team compared to some of the places I could've gone," Barrett said. "My hopes are, first to make the team, and then to hopefully play in the postseason. The more veterans you have on a team, the more the organization is committed to making a stronger effort to making it. That was important for me."