Blue Jays right-hander Matt Shoemaker seems open to signing a multiyear deal with the club, but the two sides haven’t made progress in contract talks, according to Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. There’s a hesitance on the team’s part to give Shoemaker two guaranteed years or even one with a vesting option including performance-based escalators, Nicholson-Smith reports.
While Toronto’s reluctant to commit to Shoemaker, that doesn’t necessarily mean his time with the team is up. The Blue Jays could still welcome back Shoemaker in 2020, his last arbitration-eligible season, on what MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects would be a reasonable $3.5MM salary (the same amount he collected this season). The Jays have preferred to cut that down to $3MM with a club option for 2021, but Shoemaker hasn’t bit, Nicholson-Smith relays. Should no compromise come together by the Dec. 2 non-tender deadline, the team could cut ties with Shoemaker.
A former Angel, with whom he endured multiple injury-limited seasons, Shoemaker joined the Jays in free agency last winter and then got off to an encouraging start. He took the ball five times and amassed 28 2/3 innings of 1.57 ERA/3.95 FIP pitching with 7.53 K/9, 2.83 BB/9 and a 51.4 percent groundball rate before an injury cut him down yet again. Shoemaker tore his left ACL in late April and didn’t pitch for the rest of the season, though he does seem to be progressing well in his recovery.
Whether the Jays bring back Shoemaker could inform their offseason plans to some degree. Even though the club doesn’t look as if it’ll contend for a playoff spot in 2020, it nonetheless seems likely to push for rotation help in the next few months. The Jays already acquired one starter – former Brewer Chase Anderson – and it’s doubtful he’ll be the last one they trade for or sign prior to next year.
They have plenty of financial room. Just give him the $3.5MM and the vesting option and be done with it.
$3.5 million dollars per is nothing to sneeze at, even at the MLB level. There are plenty of free agent pitchers with healthier track records and equal performance levels willing to jump at a 2 year deal at $3.5 per plus incentives (Michael Wacha, Ivan Nova, Gio Gonzalez, etc.) This is money better spent elsewhere.
$3,500,000 is a rounding error.
You’re obviously not a Cardinal fan because Wacha has been the antithesis of good health…
The amount of resources Rogers Communications holds back from the Blue Jays is a complete head shaker. I wonder if we’ll ever see Rogers give the Jays more
Gads, the Jays pitching is simply awful. Nothing in the pipeline but empty promises.
Mr. Shoemaker was once a decent MLB pitcher, but he’s thrown 138 innings in the last 3 years. Reminiscent of the Indians sticking around with Justin Masterson for years because he’d had a good one years before.
Resembles the Indians pitching before Shapiro was pulled off of baseball decisions by the owner and kicked upstairs to work with administrative and money matters.
When hired by the Jays, one of his first quotes was to the effect that he was excited to be making personnel decisions again.
This seems overly pessimistic about a lot of things, and I don’t like the front office haha
Ben Nicholson-Smith is a former MLBTR writer.
Angels reunion?
Please no
LOLZZZ!!!!
Shoemaker is a contingency plan, not a top priority. If they can reallocate his $3 million towards a Wheeler or Gibson then too bad for him. If they can’t reach a deal with that tier (or ideally the top tier) then circle back to Shoemaker.
They’re not making a deal with that tier
Shoemaker multiyear deal? No thanks.