Jays now serious contenders with historic Springer signing
TORONTO — What has been a long, drawn-out offseason, it was always going to be about how it closed for the Blue Jays rather than how it started.
And late Tuesday night, general manager Ross Atkins hit one out of the park for his young and improving club as the team landed its top prize, outfielder George Springer.
A source familiar with the negotiations confirmed to Postmedia that the three-time all-star with the Houston Astros signed a six-year deal worth US$150 million, the largest free agent deal in club history.
It’s likely that Toronto paid a premium to outbid the New York Mets, who also were in pursuit of Springer, but in doing so added the veteran presence it was seeking to complement the promising young core.
The Springer signing came hours after the team reached a one-year deal with righthanded relief pitcher Kirby Yates, who two years ago was one of the top closers in the game.
But Springer is the big “get” and immediately vaults the Jays into serious contender status for top spot in the American League East.
Both the Springer and Jays camps had kept negotiations close to the vest, which is part of the game this time of year. Toronto showed it was serious early on with an elaborate video and Zoom presentation and an offer that reportedly began as five years and $100 million.
Given the pace at which the market was unfolding, however, the Jays were clearly waiting to push their best offer to the middle of the table, a fine poker strategy by Atkins and team president Mark Shapiro that paid off on Tuesday.
A source said that Springer was to undergo a physical with
the Jays in Florida on Wednesday which would then lead to the deal being made final.
The benefits of acquiring the three-time all star with the Houston Astros are many, starting with his .270 career batting average. The 2017 World Series MVP would immediately emerge as a leadoff candidate for manager Charlie Montoyo’s order and would be a notable defensive upgrade over Randal Grichuk in centre-field.
As is almost always the case with Canada’s lone MLB team, it was always likely that the Jays would have to aggressively outbid others to land Springer, who had expressed a desire to play closer to his Connecticut home.
There’s plenty of time to determine where Springer will fit in Montoyo’s batting order, but the top of it just got that much more impressive with a potential leadoff candidate.
Springer, who was voted World Series MVP with the Astros in 2017, joins a powerpacked group that includes Bo Bichette, Vlad Guerrero Jr.,
Cavan Biggio, Teoscar Hernandez and Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
Without knowing how all the negotiations played out, it certainly seems as though the Jays front office had a strong strategy for attracting Springer. Yes, they were “in” on several other names and, yes, they had money to spend, but all indications were that Springer was at the top of the team’s wish list.
And, yes, they had to pay a premium to get him. MLB. com’s Mark Feinsend reported that the Mets’ top offer came in at six years and between $120 million and $125 million.
Interestingly, the Jays and Mets did battle earlier this winter in trade talks with Cleveland for shortstop Francisco Lindor. When the Mets prevailed in that one, the Jays’ chances of landing Springer increased.
The deal for Springer certainly overshadowed another notable move by the team earlier in the day when it signed former San Diego Padres closer Yates to a one-year deal worth $5 million, plus incentives.
Yates could be a huge boost to the Jays bullpen, especially if he returns to the form he flashed in the 2019 season when he had a hefty 41 saves and a skimpy 1.19 ERA.
Had the reliever been a freeagent a year ago, he would have cashed in handsomely, but a 2020 season that was aborted after just 4.1 innings due to surgery to remove bone chips on his elbow, Yates comes with some caution.
If healthy and back in form, Yates would become the immediate front-runner for the Jays closer job previously held by Ken Giles who is a free agent and had Tommy John surgery late in the 2020 season.
The Jays have also been innovative in employing the high-leverage pitchers in the ’pen and Yates would join a potentially high-octane group that includes Canadian Jordan Romano, Rafael Dolis and A.J. Cole. Like Springer’s agreement, the deal for Yates is pending the results of a physical.