Blue Jays sign Jansen, Mayza, and Richards to avoid arbitration
It is the final day for arbitration-eligible players to exchange salary figures in Major League Baseball, and the Toronto Blue Jays aren’t wasting any time, agreeing to five deals on Friday.
The first involved catcher Danny Jansen, avoiding arbitration by signing a one-year contract worth $3.5 million for 2023, according to Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith. Jansen was paid $1.95 million in the last season.
Jansen is coming off his fifth major league season and was projected to earn $3.7million in his second year as an arbitrator, according to MLB Trade Rumors. Following the 2024 campaign, the 27 year-old can apply for free agency.
Toronto’s backstop hit 15 home runs, 44 RBIs and .260/.339/.516 with a 140 wRC+ across 72 games in 2022. A fractured hand and a strain in the oblique caused him to miss significant time during his career.
The Blue Jays have also avoided arbitration with right-hander Trevor Richards, agreeing to a one-year deal worth $1.5 million — in line with MLBTR’s projection. Jansen and Richards can both become free agents after 2024.
The 29-yearold logged 64 innings in 2022. He had a 5.34 ERA, a 4.07 FIP and 58 relief appearances. Additionally, he had 82 strikeouts (35 walks) and a 16.7 percent strikeout rate.
Trent Thornton and Tim Mayza, fellow relievers, have also avoided arbitration by signing one-year deals in the amount of $2.1 million ($1.9million MLBTR projection) et $1 million ($1.1million MLBTR projection).
Santiago Espinal will make $2.1 million — precisely MLBTR’s projection — after settling on a one-year deal, avoiding arbitration. The 28-year-old Espinal is eligible for arbitration and can go free agency after 2026.
The right-hander was a.267/.322/.370 hitter with seven homers, 51 RBIs and 99 wRC+ through 135 contests during his third big-league season with Blue Jays. He also earned a career-best of 2.3 fWAR which was up 0.4 from 2021.
Toronto has avoided arbitration with five of its 10 cases thus far, leaving Vladimir Guerror Jr., Bo Bichette, Jordan Romano, Adam Cimber and Cavan Biggio’s cases unsettled.
If both sides don’t come to a contract agreement before the deadline passes, they can continue negotiating until their cases reach a third-party arbitrator, who’ll determine a player’s salary for the 2023 season.
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