Blue Jays Avoid Arbitration With Colby Rasmus, Brett Cecil

Jun 26, 2013; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Toronto Blue Jays center fielder Colby Rasmus (28) looks up against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The Toronto Blue Jays can officially cross two of the three arbitration-eligible players off their to-do list, as the team and center fielder Colby Rasmus have come to an agreement on a one-year, $7 million deal for 2014. The news was first reported by Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

A few moments later, Sherman also reported that the Blue Jays had come to terms with left-hander Brett Cecil.

Earlier this week, we discussed the three arbitration cases the Blue Jays faced in Rasmus, Cecil, and Esmil Rogers. At the time, my feeling was that Rasmus would see more than the MLB Trade Rumors estimate of $6.5 million, likely at or greater than the $7 million that Coco Crisp is slated to bring in during the 2014 season. With his agreement on Friday, Rasmus came in at exactly $7 million for his final year of arbitration.

Cecil was a complete miss for me and for MLBtr. Both of us felt that he would see a raise to a salary near $900k, citing the volatility of the relief market and Cecil’s previous track record working against him in his first year of eligibility. If Sherman’s report it right, the $1.3 million deal eclipses that mark significantly, more than doubling his $510K salary from his 2013 All-Star campaign.

This leaves Esmil Rogers as the only Blue Jays player still facing a possible arbitration hearing. However, as Mike Wilner noted earlier, all three were expected to come to an agreement within a few hours, keeping Anthopoulos’ record of no hearings firmly in place.

UPDATE

Sherman scoops the Toronto media again, reporting that Rogers is now officially under contract, agreeing to a $1.85 million deal for 2014.

Rogers’ raise is also significant, jumping from $509K to $1.85 million, and is well above what MLBtr flagged him for. His salary jump likely reflects his time as a starter, and the thought that the Blue Jays intend to use him again as a swing-man in 2014. His service time is also significantly higher than Cecil’s, which accounts for the higher disparity between the two, despite the fact that Cecil was obviously much more valuable to the Blue Jays last season.