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Rios, 27, is close to signing a six-year contract extension, according to major-league sources. The deal, expected to be in the $65 million range, will include an option for 2015 that could push the total value closer to $80 million.

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/7950 ... up-OF-Rios

In today's free agency, that is not a lot of money for what we are getting and hope to be getting from Rios over the course of this contract. Its also great to not have to worry about dealing with free agency once his arbitration years are up. Good move all around I'd say.

This would be a great move for the Jays and their franchise. Rios is an All Star and will be one for a very long time. Great arm, great bat, what else do you want from an OF? and he's going to get better every year.

whosthebosh? wrote:In today's free agency, that is not a lot of money for what we are getting and hope to be getting from Rios over the course of this contract. Its also great to not have to worry about dealing with free agency once his arbitration years are up. Good move all around I'd say.

I agree. We're locking him up through his prime for a reasonable figure.

I just hope Rios keeps working on his game even though his has his big ticket now. There were always rumblings about Rios work ethic when he was coming up.

I'm surprised Rios was willing to sign a long-term deal, but I guess with three more seasons before he would have been eligible for free agency it was better for him to take the guaranteed money.

Good move. The Jays need as many star level assets as possible to make up for the lack of impact draft picks. Ricciardi has sold low on or completely mismanaged a lot of inherited Ash players, but at least he seems to have held on to most of the impact ones (Halladay, Wells, Rios, McGowan, League), whether by fluke or foresight.

Co-sign on all the optimism. That's a fantastic deal compared to what Rios was likely to make on the open market when he got the opportunity to test it. I'm also a little surprised he signed long-term already, but I guess it's better to be safe than sorry.

Still waiting on that monsterous year that Rios is capable of...

Finally JP does something positive!

Awesome!! that's amazing.. perhaps he'll one day be the leader of this team? I get the impression that he's a shy person, as he's not in the media spotlight as much as Wells and Doc.. but just like everyone eles, i'm also surprised by this as well! I always thought he'd join another team.. but this is sweet news!

whosthebosh? wrote:In today's free agency, that is not a lot of money for what we are getting and hope to be getting from Rios over the course of this contract. Its also great to not have to worry about dealing with free agency once his arbitration years are up. Good move all around I'd say.

Agreed, although I read on MLB that it could go up to 80 million. Even if it does, it's still a bargain.

Good deal. I don't expect Rios to turn into a 40 HR monster, but his improving plate discipline makes him an ideal #3 guy; he was 15th in the AL in runs created last year, and at worst should be a 125-135 OPS+ guy in his prime, with good speed and an excellent arm, with a ceiling much higher than that.

If $80m is with him hitting max incentives, that's still quite a bargain.

Holmes wrote:Still waiting on that monsterous year that Rios is capable of...

Don't you ever doubt Alexis, got it?

Holmes wrote:Still waiting on that monsterous year that Rios is capable of...

I agree. If we were all convinced, this board would not have been so quick to trade him for Lincecum. Truth is, we can't tell if he's maxed out. Hopefully this is a Halladay case, where we sign him just before he (finally) takes off.

I'd still trade him for Lincecum, but not because I'm not convinced Rios is going to be a great player. Linecum is just that good.
I've been as skeptical of Rios as anyone, but he's just entering his prime and I like the development curve he's shown recently.

I definitely feel this is a step in the right direction. To have he and Wells locked up means our outfield looks awesome for the forseeable future and Snider is only a year or two away, so Stew and Stairs will keep that spot warm for him.

That outfield has the potential to be one of the better units in baseball.

I like the signing a lot. At least JP will leave a few good moves before he vacates at the end of the year.

Michael Bradley wrote:I'm surprised Rios was willing to sign a long-term deal, but I guess with three more seasons before he would have been eligible for free agency it was better for him to take the guaranteed money.

Good move. The Jays need as many star level assets as possible to make up for the lack of impact draft picks. Ricciardi has sold low on or completely mismanaged a lot of inherited Ash players, but at least he seems to have held on to most of the impact ones (Halladay, Wells, Rios, McGowan, League), whether by fluke or foresight.

he didn't even try to keep Delgado, who professed throughout that he wanted to retire a Blue Jay

sule wrote:-= original quote snipped =-



he didn't even try to keep Delgado, who professed throughout that he wanted to retire a Blue Jay

At the time, ownership wasnt willing to spend the money. It wasnt until after Delgado left, that Rogers came out and said he was willing to spend X amount of dollars over the following 3 seasons. Delgado leaving wasnt a JP issue, it was a money issue that JP didnt have control of at the time. In fact, I think it was largely due to the fanbase's reaction to not keeping Delgado that Rogers stepped up and opened his wallet.

Crap, looks like it's hit a stalemate according to the wiretap http://www.realgmbaseball.com/src_wiret ... stalemate/

evilRyu wrote:Crap, looks like it's hit a stalemate according to the wiretap http://www.realgmbaseball.com/src_wiret ... stalemate/

This is bad news. Sounds like Riccardi has almost stopped negotiating. If this doesn't get done, I don't want him to feel like he has to deal a disgruntled Rios at the deadline.

Serves us right for praising a Ricciardi move. Should've known it wouldn't go smoothly.
Here's hoping Rios signs, because this would be a huge move for the franchise.