Rasmus and Jays agree on $2.7M contract for 2012

[polo007]

http://twitter.com/#!/JonHeymanCBS/stat ... 4141243392

@JonHeymanCBS

Jon Heyman

Colby rasmus and blue jays agree on $2.7M contract for 2012

1 hour ago via Mobile Web

[JoeyBats]

Blue Jays Avoid Arbitration With Colby Rasmus
By Mike Axisa [January 15 at 2:01pm CST]
The Blue Jays and Colby Rasmus have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year contract worth $2.7MM, report CBSSports.com's Jon Heyman (on Twitter). Toronto acquired the Beverly Hills Sports Council client from the Cardinals at the trade deadline.

Our system forecast a $2.3MM salary for Rasmus next season. In 35 games after the trade, the 25-year-old hit just .173/.201/.316 with three homers while battling a wrist sprain. He's a .251/.322/.432 career hitter in his three big league seasons, though the various advanced metrics are mixed about his defensive performance.

As our Arbitration Tracker shows, the Blue Jays still have five unsigned arbitration-eligible players: Ben Francisco, Casey Janssen, Kelly Johnson, Brandon Morrow, and Carlos Villanueva.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/

[BobbyBoy]

Say Rasmus doesn't do good next year, do you think the jays could get some solid prospects and/or some solid young MLB talent for him?

[Wally West]

Say Rasmus doesn't do good next year, do you think the jays could get some solid prospects and/or some solid young MLB talent for him?

Of course! Rasmus has "potential superstar' written all over him. That's why he was soo highly coveted near the trade deadline last season.

[Al_Oliver]

I'm hoping they don't mishandle another outfielder.
Here's to hoping he caught some turkeys this offseason and is ready to rake this year

[hyper316]

so $2.7 mill + $5.5 mill from teahen = $8.2 mill invested this year in getting rasmus.

[flatjacket1]

Say Rasmus doesn't do good next year, do you think the jays could get some solid prospects and/or some solid young MLB talent for him?

Of course! Rasmus has "potential superstar' written all over him. That's why he was soo highly coveted near the trade deadline last season.

He lost some glitter after his stay in Toronto though. It would be a buy low, sell lower.

[distracted]

He lost some glitter after his stay in Toronto though. It would be a buy low, sell lower.

I dunno about the last part. While he's lost a little shine, we bought him for almost nothing. If we did trade him there's still a decent chance we get back more than we gave up for him, since I doubt AA will trade him because we need immediate help (which St. Louis did), or just because.

[Randle McMurphy]

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/compe ... /?team=TOR

$2.7M is a huge chunk of our payroll, he's up in Rajai Davis range. It's a wonder that Rogers can even afford him.

[tecumseh18]

^Geez, I didn't realize how overpaid Bau was until seeing that. Over 33% of salary is tied up in one player. We should trade him for prospects that will take until the middle of this decade to reach and stick in the bigs, like we did Roy.

Sorry to correct you, Randle, but Rogers is probably the richest owner in pro sports. I'm sure they can afford both Davis AND Rasmus. You just gotta think big.

[satyr9]

The upside to that chart is the jays are on pace for a 100m payroll once they have 25 players signed.

[s e n s i]

if quail and pheasant hunting in the thick alabama backwood all offseason doesn't scream 'break out 2012 season'...then i'm not sure what will...

[Parataxis]

How much control do we have on Rasmus after this year?

[dagger]

Carlos Villaneuva got $2.27m to avoid arbitration, but as of mid-day Jays were heading to arbitration with a number of players, including Morrow.

Update: LottOnBaseball John Lott
More arbitration avoidance: Jays sign Johnson ($6.375M) and Francisco ($1.5375M).

So it's Janssen and Morrow now