5:49pm: Jay’s incentives kick in with a $100K bonus for reaching 250 plate appearances, tweets Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports. From there, he’ll receive an additional $100K bonus for every 25 PAs up through 600. Jay hasn’t reached 600 PAs in a season since 2013, so it’s perhaps unlikely that he’ll earn the full $1.5MM of incentives, but he should be able to unlock a decent share of his bonuses if he remains healthy
2:33pm: The Royals have signed outfielder Jon Jay to a one-year deal, per a club announcement. It’s a $3MM guarantee with as much as $1.5MM in incentives, per Rustin Dodd of The Athletic (via Twitter).
The bonuses are based upon plate appearances and can begin to be earned at Jay’s 250th trip to the dish, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter), who adds that the CAA Sports client is expected to be given a shot at an everyday job. In a corresponding move, the team placed recently acquired righty Jesse Hahn on the 60-day DL due to a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.
[RELATED: Updated Royals Depth Chart]
In an offseason of change, the Kansas City organization has now acted to fill the shoes left by departing stars Eric Hosmer and Lorenzo Cain. The former will turn his job over to Lucas Duda. And the latter will now be replaced, at least in part, by Jay.
It seems the Royals have made another interesting value play here. After landing Duda for just a single-season, $3.5MM commitment, the club has added another quality veteran player without constricting future financial flexibility.
Of course, the club won’t get quite the anticipated productivity that walked away in the form of Hosmer and Cain, as is reflected in the purchase prices. The departing stars, each of whom profile as first-division regulars, commanded a total combined guarantee of $224MM — not a minimal premium over the $6.5MM total that Kansas City has promised to Duda and Jay.
It’s far from clear that these moves will spur a winning product in 2018, but it’s certainly fascinating to see the Royals making such investments when the organization could instead have embarked upon a more dramatic rebuilding effort. The ensuing signings put something of a different spin on the earlier salary-cutting trades that allowed the club to move some of the obligations owed to Brandon Moss and Joakim Soria.
Jay, who’ll soon turn 33, is fresh off of another solid season. He has not been as productive of late as he was earlier in his career with the Cardinals, but gave the Cubs 433 plate appearances of .296/.374/.375 hitting in 2017. A quality baserunner who is at least a near-average center fielder, Jay would optimally function as a fourth outfielder at this stage of his career.
Even if he’s a bit extended as a regular, Jay seems a good bet to perform up to and beyond his new salary. He has traditionally carried minimal platoon splits, so the left-handed hitter ought to be a flexible asset for the Royals to utilize. With plenty of uncertainty in the remaining mix of outfielders, among other areas of the roster, the signing will help stabilize the unit.
As for Hahn, the injury is the latest in a long line of health troubles for the 28-year-old righty. Acquired from the A’s alongside prospect Heath Fillmyer in exchange for reliever Ryan Buchter and Brandon Moss (who was included more for financial purposes), Hahn entered camp with the hope of vying for a rotation spot or, at least, a bullpen gig with his new organization.
The former sixth-round pick (Rays, 2010) displayed plenty of promise with a 3.23 ERA, 7.1 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 through his first 170 MLB innings between the Padres and the A’s. However, injuries have hit him hard since that time, and Hahn has struggled to a 5.59 ERA in 116 innings over the past two seasons while battling triceps and forearm injuries. He’s out of minor league options but will be able to work a minor league rehab assignment to get up to speed later this season if he is deemed healthy enough to take the ball once again.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Yawn.
Does nothing suit you ?
The Cubs will rue the day they let Jon Jay go. They could easily have afforded to match or better this deal. There outfield is lacking at best and bad at worst. Jon Jay would have really helped the Cubs and they will regret not resigning him. Jay is also an outstanding clubhouse guy and a leader on the Cubs. How they did not match this offer with their paltry outfield is beyond me.
Where is he going to play? The Cubs will not rue the day pal
Hahahaha
Good signing for the Royals! Jay made $8 million with the Cubs last year
The fact that they’re still signing a veteran to a one year deal makes their minor league offer to Neil Walker even more insulting than it already was
They have more of a positional need for Jay than they do Walker – so there is less need to guarantee Walker money.
Ding Ding Ding!! We have a winner!! If Walker was and OF one might have a beef but you would be correct that the Royals needed an OF.
They were talking about moving Merrifield to center, and they could use someone at third if they’re still not willing to fully rely on Cuthbert or Dozier full time just yet.
With Jay now signed, no need to move Merrifield. Don’t get me wrong about Walker. I loved him when he played in Pittsburgh but I knew they would never get him resigned for a reasonable deal. I figured the Pirates feared his back might go again and was not worth the risk to tie a bunch of guaranteed money up for a long term deal that Neil would want at that time. Obviously other teams had the same trepidation as the best they could get from the Mets was Niese who ended up with knee issues that has killed him since. His back and his hammy are what hindering a new MLB contract.
All in all I agree with you but on a cheap one year deal I think Walker could really help someone. I’m not some huge fan of his or anything, it just baffles me that he only got a minor league offer.
He always seemed to kill the Brewers. Glad it is now for at most 4 games and not division games.
Phillies – Arrieta
nats – lucroy
cargo – retire
no clue on the rest (best guess)
moose – royals maybe
cobb – brewers on the cheap
lynn – twins
walker – rays or returning to Pirates?
Holland – cards
Matt holiday was on pace for 33 homeruns and 160 hits before he got sick
For some reason while I’m watching and keeping up with all of the spring training games, I can see Lynn making a landing in Texas. Both teams (Rangers and Astros) could really use him. I can also see very low signings with the rest of in-signed players going to low market teams. Just an assessment that’s all.
Astros have like 6th good pitchers.
I don’t think the Astros need him. They’re loaded.
Texas wouldn’t want him the only want has been Colon and Lincecum.
As a fly ball pitcher Arlington is a bad match for Lynn.
So is Yellowstone
Why would Cargo retire? Where did you get that? No way Moose goes back to the Royals I think at this point. They signed Duda and Jay, and are embarking on a rebuild. My best guess would
Arrieta- Nats
Cargo White Sox
Moose Philles
Cobb Brewers
Lynn Philles
Walker Brewers
Holland Cubs
I can see all of those happening for 1 reason or another except Moose to the Phillies. I don’t think they are willing to give up on Franco yet and no room at 1st with Santana and Hoskins.
Yea that is my least confident guess. I just have no idea where he could end up. Maybe the White Sox? But he would cost them a pick. Not sure who else? Tigers? Same thing
plus the Phils are all focused on OBP right now and that’s not Moose.
Thats what i cant figure out with these teams like the sox, and phillies who seem loath to signing a moustakas for fear of loaing a draft pick. In my mind id rather have a player of moustakas caliber rather than take a risk on the lottery that is the draft.
But even with Moose they are not a contender. In a few years with the draft pick they could be. Signing a player now when you still have no viable chance to compete is not a good move.
I guess that depends on how long you sign him and how far away from competing. If moose is signed for 4 years and the team is “scheduled” to compete in year three of the deal then moustakis is way more likely to be a contributor, than the 33rd pick in the draft. Not to mention the idea that signing a productive player will help get them closer sooner in my opinion. Of course i dont buy into tanking anyway so if its not going to blow your budget then go for it.
One final idea is signing one or two guys like this when you have 40 million in payroll (in a top 5 or 10 market allows you to front load the contract to allow more flexibility when the team is ready as well.
Cubs won’t sign Holland. They’re happy with Morrow being the closer.
I don’t trust morrow the whole year as the closer.
Walker is not returning to the Pirates. Frazier will start at 2nd before they sign Walker. They will not need a bench guy to replace Frazier. They have plenty of those already.
Cargo retire? Seriously?
seeing articles today from brewers, orioles and rays sites about signing Walker. but not sure Walker finds a home until someone gets hurt. Seems like Dodgers would have made sense if they had waited it out rather than sign Utley, figuring Walker would be too expensive at the time.
I liked the part where you split both your guesses into two different kinds of guesses.
Hahaha you know he’s down in the basement right now throwing things against the wall calling himself stupid. That’s awesome.
CarGo is gonna retire at 32 lol
Cargo retire I’m crying right now
A few of these guys holding out due to being insulted by what market has dictated vs their agent fed expectations is healthy. MLB will be just fine.
They are all going to get healthy 1-year salaries once the season starts, injuries pile up and all the teams are locked in, so the FAs can dictate the market more. Sure, this Feb-May period of their careers will suck, but ultimately is just a blip on the radar.
Low, but better than nothing. Baseball revenues have continued to increase while salaries for anyone but the tippy top of elite players have gone down. This is a deal I’d expect to see in 2008 for a player of his caliber.
The Royals won’t be disappointed in signing Jay. Good solid player who hits around. 300 and very good defender in the outfield. Hopefully he stays healthy.
He saved Cubs last year in leadoff spot when nobody else could get on base. He has been a part of a winning team every year he has played. Royals will love this guy..
Except for a very bad 2016 S.D. team
Padres won’t be very good This year either. The6 have Myers, hosmer and I guess galvis. Their hitting is very scarce after that and Richard Clayton is their ace. They have no pitching.
Galvis is an awful hitter. Margot and Pirela are both much better than Galvis and probably even Spangenberg. is better.
When he broke his forearm !
Bunch of people were complaining they’d rather have Jay than Ichiro. Now we know why the Mariners signed Ichiro instead of this guy. They were already deep in negotiations. 😉
Duda batted .175 in his AL debut last year with 200 AB with TB, he should have stayed in NL. I’m guessing he is a platoon option this late in his career. Logo wb a better option but he was a more expensive sign
He hit 13 homers and was adjusting to a new league. He’ll be fine.
To small a sample size.
Loved Jay when he was a Cardinal, good luck Jon!
Loved Jay as a Cub. KC got a good ball player.
As a Giants fan, Jay at 1/3 is MUCH better that Ajax at 2/6
Jay and Duda for that little cost is a good move for Royals. Try to contend and if they fall off, they have traceable assets to move
I guess Michael Saunders is once again a free agent…
They’ll still pick up extra draft picks this year due to Cain and Hosmer and these signings probably won’t knock them out of the top third of next year’s draft. Might as well shoot for a watchable product.
Well said. Why my royal brethren are so insistant the royals lose a mountain of games is beyond me. Of course thats the new paradigm in sports now, where fans get mad when the team tries to win games. Hopefully this is a short lived fad.
I’m loving these small deals. And with as many teams as there are tanking this year I wouldn’t be a bit surprised to see the Royals in the hunt for the 2nd wildcard this year. Yankees, Red Sox, Cleveland, and Houston seem like locks but the rest of the AL is pretty mediocre at best. There’s a lot that has to go right for them but guys like Soler and Mondesi are having good springs. Also good to remain at least slightly competitive as the new tv deal is coming.
They really could just come out of nowhere and get Arrieta, Cobb, Hardy and Holland and make a thing of this year.
These moves just speak to how barren our prospect cubbard is. And they obviously have no faith in even giving Starling, Dozier and Mondesi a full season in the bigs. Not sure what the hell GMDM is doing.
Yeah he should definitely throw those guys into the majors whether ready or not. Im sure they will be fine. In fact gmdm should throw all his first round picks this year and the last two years into the majors to see what they can do. Im quite certain your right and thats the best way to get them ready.
Cubbard?
You’ve never heard of Cubbard the singing cubs fan? He plays the lute and the flute, wears tights and a robin hood cap, wonders from suberb to suberb earning his keep by performing his merry/woeful tunes of cubs seasons past…
Suberb? LoL
Another ‘fan’ who started following the Royals on October 1st, 2014.
As a long time Royals fan I’m sure happy the 2014’ers are exposing themself and falling off the bandwagon this year. Makes going to games much more bearable.
Think these are trade deadline players. If they having a good season they may get a good prospect for them. If they don’t produce not out that much money.
Orioles come on
Jay is too good not to get a mlb deal
He did get a major league deal! With the Royals!
Yankeeaddiction is a borderline Hall of Troll candidate. He is so annoying it actually hurts.
Yankee addition is a troll n Cub hater ignore him
Solid player,that’s a great pickup for the Royals! Look out 75 wins is not out of the question!
I wish all the best for John Jay. I liked him as a Cardinal.