The Blue Jays continued what has become an increasingly busy offseason Monday, announcing a one-year deal with free-agent infielder Travis Shaw. The Pro Star Management client will reportedly secure a $4MM guarantee and earn $175K upon tallying 350 plate appearances, with another $125K for every 50 plate appearances accrued thereafter. The deal maxes out at a potential $4.675MM salary if Shaw exceeds 550 plate appearances.
The Brewers non-tendered Shaw earlier this month. It was an eventful couple of weeks on the market for the 29-year-old, who drew some interest from almost half the league. It’s not hard to see the appeal, since Shaw recently looked like a long-term building block in Milwaukee. From 2017-18, Shaw combined for a .258/.347/.497 line (119 wRC+) while playing nearly every day at the hot corner. He hit 30+ home runs in each season while drawing a fair number of walks with a manageable strikeout rate. Over his first two seasons as a Brewer, he was worth 7.1 fWAR.
Of course, the wheels fell of completely in 2019. Shaw stumbled to a ghastly .157/.281/.270 line (47 wRC+) over 270 plate appearances last season. Among those with at least 250 plate appearances, only Mike Zunino was worse at the dish. Shaw continued to draw his share of walks, but his contact rate fell precipitously. Consequently, his strikeout rate almost doubled from 18.4% to 33.0%. The contending Brewers couldn’t afford to let Shaw sink or swim, and they demoted him to Triple-A San Antonio in June.
To his credit, Shaw tore the cover off the ball following his demotion. His .286/.437/.586 slash was eye-opening, even in the hitters’ haven Pacific Coast League. Most importantly, Shaw seemed to get his strikeout troubles under control back in the minors.
Nevertheless, the Brewers elected not to bring Shaw back at his projected $4.7MM arbitration salary in light of his MLB struggles. Milwaukee did offer him a contract of some sort before non-tendering him (presumably for less than his arbitration projection), tweets Jon Heyman of MLB Network, but Shaw decided to seek a change of scenery.
While Shaw falls a bit shy of that $4.7MM projection on his guarantee from the Jays, he has a strong chance at approaching the mark via his incentives. Shaw exceeded 550 plate appearances in each of 2017 and 2018, and he’s in line to start nearly every day at first base next season, tweets Scott Mitchell of TSN. That’ll leave the hot corner to Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. north of the border. Shaw replaces Justin Smoak, who coincidentally signed a very similar one-year, $5MM deal with the Brewers earlier in December.
Whether or not future additions to the lineup are forthcoming, the Jays are betting on a Shaw return to form. Shaw’s plate discipline remains intact and last season’s 88.7 MPH average exit velocity, per Statcast, is right in line with his career marks. Shaw will certainly need to rebound in the contact department. His track record and age, though, give reason for cautious optimism. If Shaw does rediscover his form at the plate, he could return to Toronto in 2021. He has accrued 4.053 years of MLB service, meaning he’ll be arbitration-eligible again next offseason. He’ll certainly hope to enter that process on the heels of a better showing than he put forth in 2019.
Jon Paul Morosi of MLB.com first reported the agreement (Twitter links). MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand added the salary terms and incentive structure.
Bounceback candidate
Gee, you think?
Yes that’s what I think
Me too but the amount surprised me. Was thinking $1m plus huge incentives.
Have you BEEN to Canada?
Well Travis certainly has. His father played for 2 1/2 years in Montreal. Canada is an amazing country. I am looking forward to watching him play here in Toronto. And I am not a Jays fan.
Hahahaha. Hilarious comment. This is a good signing on paper. Hopefully he rediscovers himself.
Jeff Shaw!
The Final Boss!
I live here. It is great.
Sorry can’t hear you over my free healthcare
Glad he has the opportunity. Will be interesting how they utilize him with Vlad, Biggio, Bichette.
Shaw still had decent defensive numbers over at third base last season. If he does bounce back, maybe Guerrero and Tellez will swap out at 1B and DH.
So that’s four children of 90’s MLB players on the Jays? Guerrero, Bichette, Biggio and how Shaw? Am I missing anyone else’s?
Griffin Conine is a good prospect in the Jays farm system.
He doesn’t technically qualify, but Lourdes Gurriel Jr’s dad was a Cuban player.
Also next generation Clemens, Halladay, and Grudzielanek I believe
Halladay didn’t sign
Good sign. He’ll help out the Jay’s for sure.
Like this signing but how about another couple handfuls of reclamation pitchers already
I hear he’s the mayor of Ding Dong City
Last year he was more like the garbage man. I hope he bounces back for his sake, but I’m not looking forward to all the Captain Hindsight “I told you so” comments, who fail to understand that Shaw wanted a change of scenery maybe more than Stearns wanted to non-tender him (they did discuss a new deal prior to the non-tender, from what I understand).
he wanted a change because he knew where Milwaukee was headed, the basement of the NL Central.
Oh yeah the Jays are in a much better position to compete this year
Dray the pirates have the cellar all to themselves. And it won’t be close.
I have to disagree. dray is down there too, and will be for a long time.
No the cubs are in the basement
Pirates would like to disagree with you.
Why dont you use this forum for mature talk and not trolling
He lost the election last year.
Good scoop
Really wanted the Braves to give him a chance, but he’s too big a question mark on a contending team. But for $4M, why not?
Glad they signed Shaw over EE. Time to wait for the usual cretins to come aboard with their bandwagon of anti-FO ‘takes’.
I doubt this rules out EE. Shaw isn’t good against lefties and can really slot in around the infield so there’s still room for him.
Don’t know if you can find anyone out there that would disagree with the first part but can you seriously sit there and praise shatkins? Cause they haven’t done anything this offseason other than overpay by 10million for Roark. You don’t sign Roark and give that dumb extension to Gritchuk and there’s money for Ryu+ that and they’re never trading Giles cause it seems there okay holding onto him till his elbow implodes
Quick name a pitcher who signed a multi year deal that didn’t get overpaid this winter.
Dallas didn’t get overpaid for what he can be. Lindblom didn’t get overpaid most people would say he got underpaid
Ahh so now we are talking potential. I like the odds of Roark becoming a 12M pitcher which in this day in age is a pitcher that can give you 160 innings over Keuckel being an 18M pitcher. I don’t like pitchers ability to bounce back as much as I do positional players.
Neither Keuchel or Kyle Gibson were overpaid in this market. Two pitchers projected to be about twice as valuable as Roark in 2020 based on Steamer projections.
Okay so if your not going off of what I guy is potentially gonna be this year then would Dallas not be a steal as a former cy young winner only making what he is?
The Jays offered Lindbloom more than he signed for. Can’t force players to sign.
they ALL are overpaid
Mark Shapiro has won one division title in 20 years of being in charge in MLB teams. They aren’t takes. He’s been brutal for two decades.
Not being sarcastic at all…real question cause I didn’t realize that record. Why the Hell is he so well thought of in baseball?
Because Jays fans are among the dumbest homers in baseball fandom and they support him blindly.
Replace fans with media and your right. No sportsnet personality speaks out against any move the shatkins make since their bosses own the team. Fans are somewhere around 60/40 on the hate towards them
I was so happy when he chose to depart Cleveland. It was obvious he was the problem.
Shapiro was a bad GM,he was a good president of operations though.
He promoted Antonetti and Chernoff and let them run the team,oversaw the renovations to Progressive Field and trained a whole cadre of front office personnel who are running teams all over baseball.
Kind of not a good take since he’s the one who built the Cleveland teams that have won the central with their recent success. You need to give him credit for having a team reach the ALCS in 2016 if that’s how you think, but that obviously wasn’t his team.
What about Shapiro’s TWO executive of the year awards?
Popularity awards? Who cares. He’s never reached the World Series.
Wait when the Marlin’s beat the Indians in 97 was Shapiro not in charge?
John Hart was. Shapiro showed up in the middle of 2001.
First or third base though?
I know he wants to concentrate on first cause that he came up as but he a great team player. Will do what ever is asked of him. He should probably rebound and you will be very happy with him
Just why?
The BlueJays still can’t pitch enough.
And they have players at every position.
Depth. They still don’t have a legit 1B so hopefully between Shaw and Rowdy they can take over first/DH/utilityman(Shaw only there) now for position players they only need to add a CF and backup SS maybe need a 3rd string catcher too. But agree shatkins needs to get their act together and get some more pitchers cause I have 0 faith in shoemaker and Anderson
Right because picking up a hitter means no pitching incoming so dumb
Shaw probably has more upside than Drury and that lot. So why not? You can only sign the players who want to sign.
Can’t believe he got $4MM. He’s been absolutely lost at the plate.
That is actually cheap in this market.
Presumably the BJs saw something they can fix. We’ll see.
Highly unlikely. Jays Management don’t fix problems. Their forte is creating problems.
Jose Bautista agrees. they ruined his career
Like when they spent 3 seasons looking for a 2b but never signed one instead letting Travis fall apart the few games he played
Jose Bautista was great there. He just got old.
LOL he got old.
Nice pickup, some good upside, obviously needs to make some adjustments at the plate but from 2017-18 he had a ops+ of 120 in 1036 AB’s. if I’m not mistaken he has 2 years of control remaining before he’s done arbitration.
Go Cubs Go
Of course, the wheels fell of completely in 2019.
How nice of a way to say that, with an “Of course,”.
I hope they aren’t wasting an everyday role on him. He’s a lotto ticket for 1B at best. Also Rowdy Tellez now has no MLB role. Why sign Shaw first over Encarnacion? Damn the Jays suck at this.
Shaw being 3B eligible gives him more value in a trade than EE by a mile. If he bounces back they’ll get something for him.
Although the effect isn’t huge, this prob increases Josh Donaldson’s value just a little bit more, as Shaw was prob a fallback option for many teams in need of a 3B.
Dude came apart at the seams last season. Never seen anything like it. Total mental collapse. Change of scenery could help, but my man is only a part time player regardless. Terrible spilts against LHP.
When I see a player’s productivity drop like Shaw’s, I think of Allen Craig for hitters and Steve Blass/Daniel Bard for pitchers. Is it an injury they’re hiding or is it a major mental block?
Both. He got hit with a pitch on the wrist early. And his daughter had a lot of medical issues.
His daughters issues were from the season before. Not sure that it made a difference last year. I think he just got too far in his head. You could see it in his eyes.
Shaw case was a mental breakdown. He just kept pressing as the season and his struggles went on. The Brewers put him on the IL and sent him down to straighten out and “re-set”, but it didn’t work.
“Baseball is 90 percent mental. The other half is physical.” – YB
I always heard it as “90 percent of baseball is half mental.”
The Blue Jays need to get Guerrero over to first base as soon as possible.
With his Prince Fielder body he’s an injury waiting to happen at third.
This might rule out Edwin
I like to signing even if it is over EE which it was not a sure thing he would have come to TO anyways. Shaw gives them a a better trade chip in July as he can play play multiple positions. Signing EE was not going to change the fact it is still a rebuilding year. It would have put a few more butts in the seats and that is all. Heck maybe Shaw finds his old form and likes TO and wants to stay. Could be a pipe dream but you never know.
A very good signing. Jays now have 5 infielders with Shaw as a good swing man. Hope he bounces back.
A lot of upside here.. I like this signing. Shaw when at his best, is very underrated. Hopefully he bounces back. Hitting in the Rogers Centre should help Shaw, and Jays seem to do well with these lower risk moves. I like it. Real nice signing.
An overpay for a bounce back candidate. Also an overpay for a player the Blue Jays do not need or will be any more useful/useless than Brandon Drury. Now the question is who they will get rid of to open playing time for Shaw.
To those who think Encarnacion is still a possibility, he isn’t. The door can only open for EE if the Jays rid themselves of 3-4 players. Until then, Edwin is not coming back to Toronto. This Shaw deal seals it. Hope it was worth it.
For those who’ve pointed out Edwin’s regression, why aren’t you looking at Shaw’s regression? His backslide numbers-wise is much more severe. This is a useful acquisition for teams needing defensive depth. For the Blue Jays this is useless until they are rid of some current players on the 40-man roster. As it stands Shaw is not a fit.
Probably because or regression is due to age and the other is due to mental. There is a 7 year difference between the two. I will also take the speed on the basepaths.
That was supposed to be one not or. Damn phone.
If he can’t get on-base like he did 2019, who cares? Again, where does Shaw fit with the current roster in-place? He should not start over any of the young players on the INF. Drury hits RH, Shaw isn’t. Shaw can’t play SS. Where does he fit? Everyone wants to be excited over this and nobody sees this is a strange move.
I can get behind this acquisition if they rid themselves of certain players. Until then this is nonsense and an overpay.
They have 800+ PA to make up for in the loss of Smoak and Sogard. I think they can manage 400+ considering he can play 1B, 2B and 3B. But like you said, all depends if he can bounce back otherwise he gets DFA’ed and who cares if that is the case. The Jays has the money to spend on free agency this year but couldn’t get any big names to come this year so nothing lost spending 4M on a lottery ticket.
Circle in a square peg, Boatmen. Shaw is not a fit. He’s not starting on this team. He can’t hit lefties. He can’t play SS. This is a waste of time. He can only be a bounce back candidate of any significance if he receives consistent playing time. As it stands he is a utility player at-best. He also does not deserve to start over the young players.
The Jays have 5 first baseman now. Hernandez, Tellez, Vlad Jr. Shaw, and Drury. I suppose Shaw and Drury can play 3rd too. Vlad can’t. Drury’s natural position is 3rd.
In what universe is Shaw a good signing for this team?
the universe where he takes Ab’s away from Drury because he bounces back and then gets traded away at the deadline for good future value.
money us not an issue so who cares if it is or isnt an overpay? taken a flyer on a guy who was on the way back late last year. see if it continues and maybe flip him. just hope this means less playing time for Drury
Pick one or the other, do not keep both. Neither can play SS. Urena will probably be the backup SS. But Shaw can’t hit lefties. It would make more sense to get rid of Drury entirely to justify the Shaw move.
On the way back late last year? This is not supported by MLB game log…
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.fcgi?id=shawtr01&t=b&year=2019#all_batting_gamelogs
Agreed, this takes Edwin out the picture.
Great no risk signing with a real chance at a lot of value. Not looking good for Tellez, for better or worse.
“Great” is a bit strong, don’t you think? Considering Tellez can outhit Shaw at 1/7th the cost and Shaw is not guaranteed a starting role. Plus, if Shaw returns to 2017-form he will still not garner much in a trade with Atkins’ track record at the deadline. Certainly will receive less than what the Jays accepted for Stroman.
Tellez can outhit Shaw? Man you’re delusional. Looking at 2019 ok maybe I see where you’re coming from but with the previous two years before Shaw can outhit Tellez. The front office is banking on Shaw bouncing back more quickly than Tellez breaking out. If they had the much confidence in Tellez why seek first base help then?
Rhymo – what part is delusional? CAN is what was said. Had I said “WILL”, call me delusional. You had time to read and re-read what I said and you chose to be your usual idiotic self.
And 1B help? Why? If you and the Jays have quit on Tellez get rid of him. Otherwise start him at 1B everyday until he proves he can’t. To say a guy can’t get it done after 1 rookie season is absurd. Why not quit on Jansen too. Or Grichuk. The Jays can plug Drury (RH bat) and Gurriel at 1B.
Study the 40-man next time.
I never gave up on Tellez I love the guy. The front office is looking for first base help. They made a competitive offer for EE. If you think jays should plug Drury in at first that’s a terrible take. If he’s not playing third base he should not be in the lineup. Jansen and Grichuk has something Tellez doesn’t. Good defence. If you have any ideas of using Gurriel at 1B then I’m concerned about your mental health. How about you study the 40 man and see how many outfielder there are on it. Then see how many can play everyday and contribute above average for them. There’s one MAYBE two. Gurriel and Grichuk. And moving a young possibly good defender from the outfield to first base is a poor take. You stay with Gurriel in the outfield and take a flyer (which they did) on a bounce back option that could be dealt at the deadline for prospects.
We do not know what that “competitive” offer was to EE.
Your comments suggest you are not an authoritarian on mental health or baseball for that matter. The point was Gurriel can play 1B in the event of injury or extra inning scenarios. You bring in Shaw with the idea that Drury is gone from the team. Urena is the backup SS and Shaw is plugged behind Vlad, Biggio or Tellez.
Stop making presumptions and follow along. This should not be too fast for you.
Gurriel plays LF, Vlad 3B, Bo SS, Biggio 2B and Tellez 1B. There are at least 2 OFs to get rid of plus Drury. 5 OFs plus Urena, starting 4 INF, 2 catchers and now Shaw make 13. If the Jays opt to keep Drury it means 3 OFs have to go, and Gurriel, Grichuk, Fisher and Teoscar are probably safe. With all that said, Shaw doesn’t make sense unless guys are cut.
Did you get all that or should I dumb it down for you to understand that Shaw is a useless pickup for the current Blue Jays squad? If they get rid of the players I mentioned I will slowly accept the Shaw acquisition. But he’s no EE and the Jays still do not have a true mentor.
It’s obvious there will be moves to be made. Guys will be DFA’d or traded. Maybe you should research a little more and you’d find out Tellez has one option remaining and most likely will be sent down if no players are moved. Shaw will be given every opportunity to play everyday at first to try to regain his once strong bat. With the amount of first base options they have why even consider Gurriel? Biggio McKinney Drury can all play or even Teoscar in case of an emergency. Why make the point of dragging a young player who struggled at one position to play another position after barely making the transition to a new more permanent position. It’s stupidity if you want to play Gurriel at a position in case of emergency when you have multiple others who have more experience than he at that position. You can count and add up all these position players that’s mighty good of you maybe after counting all though positions up you can do a little more research and realize that there are now 26 roster spots this upcoming season meaning if they need they can take an extra position bat that they don’t want to risk going through waivers. Though I much rather prefer an extra pitcher they may keep another hitter due to their extra roster spot. Shaw has more experience than Tellez has a better track record and more upside for the next year. Tellez has an option remaining. He spends the year in Buffalo (the AAA team in case you don’t know) to work on his approach while Shaw gets everyday at bats to prove he is still the hitter he once showed. Plus with a young team with multiple positional flexibility from many players why jeopardize one player who already showed he could not handle a position with making him play another position he may struggle with. He showed great strides in the OF with an arm that plays out there. Emergency or not there are many other players that could fill in that first base role in case of extra innings or injuries rather than Gurriel. We don’t know the competitive offer to EE was but I’m sure competitive means they made a competitive offer to him. Although you may not understand that but it seems they may make a run for Edwin and with all your math you did (good work by the way so proud) they may have too many position players. With limited players with options it seems they may have to risk moving players through waivers. Rebuilding teams also could use reclamation projects to regain value. See tigers signing Schoop and Cron. Shaw was signed 2 million less than those two but I’m sure if you’re in the front office you’d call up Griffin Conine because you think he could play first in an emergency while also helping a rebuilding team. Veterans are signed to fill the void so a player can spend more time in the minors like Tellez could very well be doing next season.
Sorry, hard enough to get through reading shorter incompetence from you. Not going to bother.
Ahh you just couldn’t read more than a couple sentences before you lose interest makes sense
@WereAllJustGuestsHere…
You have been awarded “Pumpous A** Hole” Post of the Thread Award for your “Did you get all that or should I dumb it down for you to understand that Shaw is a useless pickup for the current Blue Jays squad?” comment. Congrats!
Thank you for that assumption, Assumes. Much appreciated. Clearly you didn’t read his diatribe either. Any of it for that matter. Otherwise you’d know real facts. Probably time to switch up the handle.
Solid signing. Now they need about 5 more pitchers and they’re all set.
I wonder what happened to him last year. Such an alarming drop off in production after two years of solid play…..
I hope this means the Jays dump Drury now
Rowdy Tellez has the best name in MLB! That’s it, that’s my contribution to this post.
Brewers will live to regret this decision
Hardly.
The Brewers did make an offer..not sure how much, but it’s not like they said Bye Felecia. Shaw had a huge mental lapse last year, so a change a scenery is the best thing for him. Wish him nothing but luck and hope he can get back into 2017-18 form.
Crew offered him a pay cut. They weren’t willing to spend $4.7MM on him even after he was their MVP in 2017. He will probably rebound to better form next year, but he needed to get out of Milwaukee to do it. The fact is, he’s only a pry-time player anyway. Can’t hit lefties.
Another missed opportunity for the Red Sox.
What difference would Shaw make? They’d win 80 games instead of 79?
Duplicate post:
The Jays have 5 first baseman now. Hernandez, Tellez, Vlad Jr. Shaw, and Drury. I suppose Shaw and Drury can play 3rd too. Vlad can’t. Drury’s natural position is 3rd.
In what universe is Shaw a good signing for this team?
Gurriel should be on that list.
He only played 1B 3x but Biggio had 8. I wish they would just give Shaw full time AB’s at 3B and move Vlad to 1B. Trade Tellez, Hernandez and Drury for some more pitching and continue the rebuild.
Boatmen, I like your thinking.
Gurriel is in the outfield now.
In the 12th inning of a ballgame where the bench has emptied, Gurriel’s moving to the INF if-needed. But thank you for the tidbit there Miller.
Trade is probably coming involving Drury or Tellez…
Shaw’s kid had a life threatening issue that lingered for months and he had a wrist injury That was the cause of his decline. I think he bounces back and plays back to his 2017 form and becomes an important veteran for the team.
The kids issues were the season before and the wrist was just an excuse to put him on the DL to “re-set” and straighten out his head. Didn’t work.
His 2017 season was the outlier. He’s terrible against lefties and is really a part-time player.
I believe this is a great sign for TOR, and a well written contract for both. I was hoping Detroit would land him. Cesar Hernandez?
They should grab Bird too and maybe a couple of guys like Nova or Edwin Jackson
I like him to take Tellez’s spot out of the gate. Vlad, Bichette, Biggio, Shaw, Drury is a very solid infield especially when Shaw-Drury-Biggio can play around the infield and a little outfield too.
Rotate the DH position to keep guys fresh.
Tellez and Urena can fight for a call up.
I think he’s got a good chance on bouncing back at least to a point where he’s goodagain if not all the way to his best season. And assuming he does and the young guys in the lineup all take a step forward – the Jays are suddenly looking like a team with a very respectable lineup and improved pitching staff — I’m also reading that they’re interested in David Price – they could quite conceivably start to put themselves into the mix for a playoff contender. Solid pickup in my opinion – hope he bounces back for his sake – was hoping the Red Sox would consider brining him back for their own 1B needs but regardless he’s a guy I hope does well for his own sake.
May only be as useful as Jedd Gyorko circa 2018 (.262/.346/.416), but even at that level with the ability to sub all around the IF and possibly even occasionally in the OF corners would be worth that $4MM base and incentives.
Let’s get this straight, Shaw’s only a “no-risk” signing if you don’t figure to be anywhere near contention and can afford to keep putting him in the lineup even as he’s hitting under .170. His struggles certainly cost the Brewers a division title and could have cost them a wild card as well. They actually sent down a red hot Keston Hiura to give him another chance after his first trip to AAA. That certainly didn’t turn out well. I figure the Brewers are happy a team that’s likely to be a seller in July has Shaw. If he returns to form, the Brewers are a logical destination. But let him prove himself elsewhere first.
Solid pickup
Seems like the pros of this signing are more optics than anything since the chief con is his disastrous results last year which for most players was a offence induced year.
Pros: just hitting 30 years old, pro caliber defensive flexibility, LH power potential bat, gets on base, AL east experience, postseason experience, 1 option left, short term inexpensive contract.
Con: .551 OPS in 2019 and very real threat of total regression to obsolete baseball player. He very well could just be finished.
Would have been a worthwhile gamble for the Rangers.. oh well..
Curious if TOR would be willing to acquire a natural 1B and make Shaw a full time DH.