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Blue Jays Sign Bautista To Five-Year Extension

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Last year wasn't supposed to be Jose Bautista's contract year. At the beginning of the 2010 campaign, Bautista was a utility player who had never hit more than 16 homers in any major league season and was still two years away from free agency. But his 54 home run outburst has officially earned him a five-year extension. The Blue Jays announced that they have avoided tomorrow's scheduled arbitration hearing and agreed to a $64MM extension with Bautista.

Bautista will earn $8MM in 2011 and $14MM per season from 2012-15, according to the team. The Blue Jays hold a $14MM option for 2016.

As our Arbitration Tracker shows, Bautista filed for $10.5MM and the team countered with a $7.6MM submission. The five-year deal, which resembles Dan Uggla's extension, buys out Bautista's fourth and final season of arbitration and his first four seasons of free agency.

Bautista posted a .260/.378/.617 line for the Blue Jays last year. He reached base like a leadoff hitter (.378 OBP) but his surprising power (.617 slugging percentage) pushed him to the heart of the Blue Jays' order before long. A versatile defender who spent most of last season in right field, Bautista is slated to start the coming season as Toronto's starting third baseman. For more on his unusual arbitration case click here.

Hunter Pence, who has a hearing scheduled tomorrow, is the lone unsigned arbitration eligible player remaining.

Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes first reported that the sides were close to an agreement and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported the deal was done.

Quick Hits: Wilson, Allen, Swisher, Maholm, Tigers

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Ten years ago today, the Angels signed Alberto Callaspo as an amateur free agent out of Venezuela. He spent four years in their farm system before being traded to the Diamondbacks for Jason Bulger. After a stint with the Royals, Callaspo ended up back with the Halos following a mid-summer trade last year.

Here are today's batch of links…

  • MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith appeared on this week's edition of the Beyond The Box Score Podcast, so head on over and give it a listen.
  • C.J. Wilson told MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan that he's not thinking about his upcoming free agency, mentioning that the Rangers has never offered him a long-term deal.
  • The Russell Branyan signing seems to indicate that the Diamondbacks don't see Brandon Allen as a fit anymore, says Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic (Twitter links). He adds that Arizona gauged Allen's trade value at the winter meetings, and he's heard that the Rays were high on him in the past.
  • Yankees outfielder Nick Swisher said he and former agent Joe Bick "just grew apart," which is why he signed on with Dan Lozano recently, reports Ken Davidoff of Newsday.
  • Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos told MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm that he's not a fan of performance-based incentives because of the uncertainty they create.
  • Paul Maholm told Rob Biertempfel of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that he's willing to discuss an extension with the Pirates, which pleasantly surprised GM Neal Huntington. "Paul's done some good things for this organization," said the GM. "We'll give it due consideration." The team holds a $9.75MM club option for Maholm's services in 2012 after he earns $5.75MM in 2011.
  • John Lowe of The Detroit Free Press points out that there is no dead weight on the Tigers' $105MM payroll. Detroit paid close to $24MM for Nate Robertson and Dontrelle Willis last season, who gave them 43 1/3 IP with a 4.98 ERA (all by Willis).
  • Larry Stone of The Seattle Times spoke to Yankees GM Brian Cashman about last summer's near trade for Cliff Lee. Cashman said he's glad he didn't agree to Seattle's revised offer after seeing Lee sign with Philadelphia. "Now I'm like, I've got one of the premier hitting talents here, and I didn't have a two-month rental," said the GM, referring to top prospect Jesus Montero.

Blue Jays Sign Scott Podsednik

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8:20pm: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that Podsednik will earn $1MM if he makes the team (Twitter link). Declining the option with the Dodgers definitely didn't work out the way he would have liked.

3:01pm: The Blue Jays have signed Scott Podsednik to a minor league deal with an invitation to Major League Spring Training, the team announced. The 34-year-old speedster joins the Blue Jays after back-to-back solid seasons spent in Chicago, Kansas City and Los Angeles. Sports One Athlete Management represents the Blue Jays' new addition.

Podsednik posted a .297/.342/.382 line in 595 plate appearances for the Royals and Dodgers last year. He stole 35 bases (50 attempts) so, along with fellow newcomer Rajai Davis, he'll help manager John Farrell realize his goal of creating a well-rounded offense instead of a homer-centric one.

Podsednik, a ten-year veteran, figures to be in competition with Davis and Juan Rivera for playing time. A left-handed hitter, Podsednik will provide Farrell with alternatives to Davis and Rivera, who both bat from the right side.

The Dodgers didn't offer Podsednik arbitration after the season, so they don't gain a pick for losing the Type B free agent. Podsednik turned down his side of his mutual option with the Dodgers after the team picked its side up for $2MM. Unless his minor league deal with Toronto is an unusually lucrative one, Podsednik would have obtained more guaranteed money by exercising his option back in November.

Blue Jays Close To Extension With Jose Bautista

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7:44pm: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that the contract would also include a sixth year club option that could push the total value of the deal to $78MM (Twitter link).

7:05pm: The Blue Jays and Jose Bautista are close to agreeing to a five-year contract extension worth approximately $65MM, reports Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes. The deal would also include financial support for Bautista's charitable activities in Toronto and the Dominican Republic. Some details still need to be worked out and a physical must take place before the contract is finalized.  

As our Arbitration Tracker shows, Bautista filed for $10.5MM his final time through arbitration, the team $7.6MM. A five-year contract would buy out his final year of arbitration plus four free agent years. The two sides asked to have their arbitration hearing pushed back earlier this week, and indication that they were closing in on deal.

Bautista, 30, is coming off a historic 2010 season in which he hit 54 homers, the 19th highest single-season total in history. He also drew 100 walks, so his prodigous power output was backed up by a .378 OBP. Of course that was the first time Bautista performed at a star level. He'd hit just .238/.329/.400 with 59 homers in over 2,000 career plate appearances coming into 2010, so the Jays are clearly expecting Bautista to repeat last year's performance into his mid-30's.

Minor Moves: Geary, Perkins, Cotts, Petit

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Some minor league moves from early Spring Training…

  • The Padres signed righty reliever Geoff Geary, tweets Baseball America's Matt Eddy. He did not pitch in the majors last season, instead appearing in 31 games for the Triple-A affiliates of the Rangers and Dodgers (4.32 ERA). 
  • The Padres also released infielder Gregorio Petit, tweet Eddy. He signed on with San Diego back in December.
  • The Yankees signed righty reliever Fernando Hernandez, tweets Eddy. The 26-year-old pitched in three games with the 2008 A's as a Rule 5 Pick, though he spent last year with their Triple-A affiliate (4.77 ERA in 77 1/3 innings).
  • The Yankees also released Neal Cotts, reports Marc Carig of The Star Ledger (Twitter link). Cotts signed a minor league deal in November, but was still coming back from Tommy John and hip surgeries. 
  • The Blue Jays signed Vince Perkins, who they originally drafted back in 2000, tweets Eddy. The Canadian-born right-hander last pitched in 2009, when he made 53 appearances in the Cubs' minor league system (3.02 ERA).
  • The Braves signed left-hander Jose Lugo, tweets Eddy. The 25-year-old posted a 6.72 ERA with 8.8 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9 in 85 2/3 innings with the Twins' Triple-A affiliate last season.

Quick Hits: Bautista, Chapman, Mariners, Marlins

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Some news items to wrap up the evening….

  • In regards to the Blue Jays and Jose Bautista pushing back their arbitration hearing, a source tells FOXSports.com's Jon Paul Morosi (Twitter link) that when hearings are delayed, it "frequently" means a long-term deal is on the way.   
  • Reds pitching coach Bryan Price confirms that Aroldis Chapman will pitch relief for Cincinnati this season, reports Fanhouse's John Hickey.  The Reds' rotation is deep enough that they "don't have to push Chapman," Price said.  "We don't need to stockpile innings on him at this stage of his career…But down the road will he start? I think he will."
  • The Mariners announced that Ken Griffey Jr. will be a special consultant for the club, according to the team's Twitter feed.  MLB.com's Greg Johns outlines some of the tasks Griffey will perform in his new position.
  • Chris Ray tells Greg Johns that he turned down a Major League offer from another club to sign a minor league deal with the Mariners since Ray will get a chance to close or at least set up games in Seattle.  "It doesn't really mean a whole lot if it's a one-year contract [elsewhere] and I'm a free agent again next year if I'm pitching basically the scrap innings," Johns said. "That's not something that will help me out in the future. From this point forward, I want to be the guy who goes in late in the ballgame."
  • Jeffrey Loria thinks the Marlins are a playoff-caliber team, writes Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.  Loria also hinted that Florida's payroll will rise next year when the Fish move into their new Miami stadium.
  • Jorge Posada said "it wouldn't surprise" him if Andy Pettitte pitched again, reports Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News.

Quick Hits: Young, Bautista, Prado, Jorge

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Happy Bobby Valentine day everybody!  Thank you, thank you, I'll be here all week.  Try the roast beef and be sure to tip your staff writers.  Here are some links for Monday night..

  • Melissa Segura of SI (via Twitter) reminds us that some of baseball's elite international free agents will be playing in Tuesday's Dominican International League All-Star Game.
  • From all indications, Michael Young isn't a fit for the Marlins, writes MLB.com's Joe Frisaro.
  • Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star (via Twitter) is "99-percent sure" that the postponement of Jose Bautista's arbitration hearing will result in a multiyear deal.  The session, originally scheduled for Monday, has been pushed back until Friday.
  • It's not yet known why Elmer Dessens' deal with the Giants fell through but Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle writes that when a team is tightlipped on such matters, it could mean they did not like something in the physical.
  • Braves infielder Martin Prado was hesitant about changing positions to accommodate the arrival of Dan Uggla but is now comfortable with the move to left field, writes MLB.com's Mark Bowman.
  • The Twins have been impressed by Felix Jorge's development over the last few months, writes Kelly Thesier of MLB.com. 

Blue Jays, Bautista Discussing Multiyear Deal

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8:44pm: In a text message to Morosi, Bautista confirmed that the hearing has been rescheduled for Friday and the sides are talking about multiyear proposals.

6:48pm: Bautista's arbitration hearing has been postponed until Friday, tweets Morosi.

5:55pm: Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos has issued the following comment, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter). 

"Our arbitration hearing with Jose Bautista has been postponed to allow further negotiation between the player and the club," the GM said.

Meanwhile, Morosi also tweets that the slugger told him that he is still "very hopeful" about remaining in Toronto long term.

5:30pm: The Blue Jays are discussing a multiyear deal with Jose Bautista and have asked that his arbitration hearing be postponed until Friday, according to Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes.com.

Bautista said last week that he would stop discussing long-term deals with the Blue Jays after his arbitration hearing, which had been scheduled for today. If the Blue Jays' request is granted, they will have four extra days to work out a deal with Bautista and his representatives at Proformance.

Bautista, one of five unsigned arbitration eligible players, filed for $10.5MM and the Blue Jays countered with $7.6MM, as our Arb Tracker shows. Bautista hit a major league-leading 54 homers last year and posted a .260/.378/.617 line for the Blue Jays. For more on his case click here.

AL East Links: Rays, Bautista, Yankees

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The latest from Florida, where pitchers and catchers are reporting to AL East Spring Training camps…

  • Rays executive VP of baseball operations Andrew Friedman told Erik Hahmann of DRaysBay that "starting pitching, position players who can help you on both sides of the ball, and impact talent up the middle" are difficult or impossible for the Rays to obtain on the open market. That's why the Rays expect the upcoming draft to be some of "the most important days in the history of [the Tampa Bay] franchise." Friedman admits that the Rays face different challenges than, say, the Yankees or Red Sox, but expects his club to compete in 2011.
  • Jose Bautista, who set a deadline for extension talks with the Blue Jays, told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that he is "still very hopeful” about signing long-term with the Jays. Bautista's arbitration hearing is scheduled for today, so we'll know by tomorrow whether he's going to sign an extension or make $10.5MM or $7.6MM this year.
  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post points out that some aging players are crucial to the Yankees' success in 2011.

Jose Bautista Sets Deadline For Extension Talks

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Albert Pujols isn’t the only prospective free agent who doesn’t want to negotiate an extension once the season starts. The defending American League home run champion has set a deadline for contract talks, too. Jose Bautista, whose arbitration hearing is scheduled for Monday, told Ken Fidlin of the Toronto Sun that he won’t be open to negotiating a long-term deal with the Blue Jays during the season. 

“I won’t be open to it after the hearing,” Bautista said. “After the hearing, I believe we will notify the team that [an extension] is not going to be a possibility, unless it’s in that window they have from the end of the season until the free agency period begins.”

Bautista says he wants to stay with the Blue Jays, but doesn’t like the idea of negotiating a contract once the season begins.

“My desire is to play in Toronto long term but, after the hearing, or during the season, I have come to the conclusion that it’s probably not the best thing for me to be negotiating any type of deal,” he said. “I want to focus on the game and trying to win ballgames."

Bautista asked for $10.5MM in arbitration and the Blue Jays countered with $7.6MM, as MLBTR’s Arb Tracker shows. The sides have not started discussing an extension, as far as Bautista knows. Click here for more on Bautista's arbitration case.

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