The Blue Jays announced that they have signed Jeff Mathis to a two-year contract extension worth $3MM with a club option for 2015 worth $1.5MM. The deal marks a lateral move in compensation for the catcher, who made $1.5MM this season after avoiding arbitration with Toronto over the winter.
Mathis, 29, is hitting .215/.252/.415 with six homers in 147 plate appearances this season. The backstop spent the first seven years of his big league career with the Angels before being traded to the Blue Jays for left-hander Brad Mills. While Mathis is far from an elite slugger, he has stepped up his offensive production in 2012 and currently has his best OPS of any full campaign.
Earlier today, it was reported that the Blue Jays were on the verge of acquiring fellow veteran catcher Yorvit Torrealba off of waivers.
How much is Mathis paying the Jays in this contract?
Well. That’s…something.
He’s a pretty solid backup, good defense, works well with pitchers, surprisingly decent speed, and some pop in the bat.
I just mentioned that Mathis would be extended in my Torealba post
AA is doing things just to spite me now
Well how would this affect d’Arnaud? I had assumed they would have treated him how the dbacks treated Miguel Montero, use him as backup and then trade Arencibia when the time is right.
mathis is blocking him, obviously
Jp will probably get traded when Travis is ready. The deal doesn’t make much sense.
extension candidates: mark kotsay, jeff mathis
they need to stop this feature before I see Lew Ford on it
Man, Mathis is horrible.
he’s having a career year
…which is quite sad, really
AA’s going from secret agent ninja silent assassin, to Beverley hills ninja.
If my math is correct the 27 outs Jeff Mathis has a firm hand in creating are 9 times more valuable than 3 he gives up with bat.
That is true if you don’t believe that any other catcher could do as well, or similarly well in getting those 27 outs. You would have to factor in how much better Mathis is at calling a game than other catchers (if he even is), and then look at the how much better those other catchers are offensively. It’s not quite a clear cut 27:3 ratio as you state.
Montero is not blocking anybody.
Good Strategic move.
Sign a backup catcher with a good head for the game (but poor bat) for a couple of years allowing the trade chips to be lined up. If D’Arnaud is ready after playing in the Arizona fall league then JPA is trade bait this offseason and Mathis will be a good mentor to D’Arnaud. If D’Arnaud still needs for seasoning then the Jays catching situation is secure next year with JPA and Mathis until D’Arnaud is ready and the catching situation is just one less thing to worry about this offseason.
Mets could sure use of the Jays young catchers right about now would love for them to trade for one…
Guy is coming dirt cheap. What are you guys complaining about? Pennies for a backup. Which is what you’d expect.
Literally anything for possibly the worst hitter in major league history.
Hey! Koyie Hill resents that!
I know what you’re saying….but I’m just not comfortable with terms like “dirt cheap” for anyone who makes in the millions per season. Itinerant produce field workers are dirt cheap…not guys who drive show cars and women.
I’m pleasantly surprised at Mathis’ .667 OPS this year. That’s slightly less than completely horrible.
Amazing what hitting .196 with a .256 OBA for your career can get you these days.
ok Angel fans, he sucked for you. Get over it, is Jeff Mathis the reason the Angels choked out in every playoff since 2002? obviously it was his fault.
no worries, pujols is there to do it for the next 10
It’s easy to jump on this guy, I know, I went to high school with him…
wait, no i didnt, but still.
Dude, this guy can call a game for sure, and of course 3mil is no chump change tho in the realm of baseball, it’s only a peg up above league min.
We’re talking about Jeff Mathis, this dude just wants to play, hell, after he got traded from the Halos to Canada, the dude pitched an inning when they needed someone and had no one.
Dude’s a gamer.
Avg sucks for sure, no doubt, he’s not Pudge, but still.
but still. I dont own his jersey or ever will, tho I think in the case of extremes an old LA Times article shows exactly how and why Mathis is useful. Power vs. Brain.
“in 657 innings with the agile Mathis behind the plate, Angels pitchers
had a 3.99 earned-run average; they had a 4.86 ERA in 758 innings with
Napoli catching. Mathis also caught 17 of 69 attempted base-stealers for
a 24.6% success rate; Napoli, who will make $3.6 million in 2010 but is
coming off two 20-homer seasons, caught 13 of 87 attempted
base-stealers for a 14.9% success rate.”
cERA has to count for something, right?
I understand the acquisition in the sense that this helps 3 young catchers the Jays have in Arencibia, d’Arnaud and I’m throwing Gomes in too and gives them a good game calling back-up. Don’t think 2 years guaranteed was necessary. I still do not think you can trade JP until d’Arnuad becomes a sure thing, so I would expect to see him get a lot of DH time, although that may hurt his value as a catcher. It’s gonna be interesting to see how this plays out.