Blue Jays, Josh Donaldson agree to two-year extension

The Blue Jays and American League MVP Josh Donaldson have agreed to a two-year, $29 million contract to avoid a second arbitration hearing in two years

Josh Donaldson and the Toronto Blue Jays have avoided their February 15th salary arbitration date, as Shi Davidi of Sportsnet reported late Monday night that the sides have agreed to terms on a two-year contract extension worth nearly $29 million.

After meeting in arbitration last offseason before Donaldson had even taken the field for the organization, this outcome is far more appetizing than debating the $450,000 gap between the $11.35 million number filed by Toronto and the $11.8 million number filed by Donaldson’s camp.

This structure and salary level should also come in handy when it’s time for the Blue Jays to negotiate Donaldson’s final year of arbitration or work towards a longer-term deal.

If the third baseman is able to keep his performance at this current level while averaging a $14.5 salary over the next two seasons, he can expect to be made one of the league’s highest-paid position players.

In the bigger picture, this is also critical for the Blue Jays in 2017. Now that this salary is in place, it gives the organization a much clearer baseline to move forward with during conversations with Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion. The organization is facing a rather large group of pending free agents entering 2016, so the increased stability found in this deal can allow for wheels to begin turning elsewhere.