Jays Give Downs And Four Others New Contracts
Posted January 18, 2008 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
No one’s more surprised than Scott Downs (left) that the veteran reliever now has the security of a hefty, long-term contract.
The Toronto Blue Jays avoided salary arbitration with the left-hander, signing him to a US$10-million, three-year deal Friday. The club also signed infielder Marco Scutaro (two years, $2.65 million), right-hander Jason Frasor (one year, $1.125 million) and left-handers Gustavo Chacin (one year, $725,000) and Brian Tallett (one year, $640,000).
That leaves all-star outfielder Alex Rios as Toronto’s last remaining player in arbitration. The two sides exchanged salary figures Friday, with the Jays offering US$4.535 million and Rios countering with $5.65 million.
“Right now it’s a big shock, I’m still in awe with the whole thing,” Downs during a conference call. “My family and myself are very grateful that we know we’re going to be coming back to Toronto for the next three years.
“No plan on doing anything extensive (with $10-million windfall). I have my two kids at home that I’m still taking to school every morning. Right now, that’s our biggest concern.”
Downs, 32, posted a 4-2 record and 2.17 earned-run average last year, his third with Toronto. He also led the club with a career-high 81 appearances, helping solidify a Jays bullpen that was forced to go much of last season minus closer B.J. Ryan (elbow).
Despite his heavy workload, Downs said he never felt tired last year.
“Surprisingly I stayed strong,” he said. “There was probably a week there where I had a little bit of dead arm but nothing extensive.
“I was able to get comfortable with my workout routine and doing my exercises and staying strong. I felt strong to the end of the season to where if we were in the playoffs I could’ve gone through the whole playoff season. I was strong pretty much the whole year so I’m doing the same things that I did last off-season to prepare myself for this upcoming season.”
The six-foot-two, 190-pound Downs led all AL left-handers in holding opposition batters to a .209 average last season, his sixth in the majors. Downs, who spent three-plus seasons with Montreal before coming Toronto, enters the 2008 campaign with a 21-17 career record and 4.41 ERA.
Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi said re-signing Downs to a long-term deal wasn’t a difficult decision for him to make.
“We like him, we like the job he’s done,” he said. “You look at the market for these guys out there and the market is kind of going through the roof when you see the guys that are out there and some of the things they’re demanding.
“This is a guy that takes the ball, this is a guy that takes care of himself, this is a guy that’s been healthy with us, knock on wood, and has just really settled into fill a role in our bullpen. Sometimes it’s the animal you have that you really like as opposed to trying to go re-create that.”
The same logic could apply to Rios, who is Toronto’s biggest offensive threat. The six-foot-five, 194-pound right-fielder hit .297 with 24 homers and 85 runs-batted in last year and also had 17 stolen bases.
Ricciardi said while he and Rios exchanged salary figures, it doesn’t mean they’re headed to an arbitration hearing. It’s very common for agreements to be made minutes before the two sides are scheduled to appear before an arbitrator.
Toronto hasn’t gone to arbitration with any player since Ricciardi became general manager six years ago. Rios isn’t eligible for free agency until after the 2010 season.
“You never know,” Ricciardi said. “The nice thing is we’ve got Alex here for the next three years and we are going to talk to him and continue to talk to him about a multi-year deal and we’ll see how it plays out.”
Downs is confident that Rios and the Blue Jays can reach an amiable agreement.
“I think Alex wants to be in Toronto and I’m certain J.P. wants to keep that nucleus together,” he said. “I think they see Rios as a big part of that nucleus in the outfield and that lineup to help this team win.
“I’m confident something will get done in the future.”
Scutaro gets $1.55 million this season, matching his base salary last year, and $1.1 million in 2009. The 32-year-old, acquired in November from Oakland, filled in for both second baseman Mark Ellis and shortstop Bobby Crosby when they were hurt in recent seasons.
Scutaro hit .260 last year with seven home runs and 41 RBIs in 104 games. He made 86 starts at five positions, including 38 at shortstop, 33 at third base, 12 at second, two in right field and one in left field.
He can earn a $25,000 bonus for 400 plate appearances this year and $400,000 in performance bonuses in 2009: $100,000 each for 400, 425, 450 and 475 plate appearances.
Frasor, who got a raise of $300,000, was 1-5 with a 4.58 ERA in 51 relief appearances. He struck out 59 in 57 innings and walked 23 and served as closer for a time in April after Ryan went on the disabled list. Jeremy Accardo wound up filling the closer’s role, and Frasor finished the season with three saves.
Chacin went 2-1 with a 5.60 ERA in five starts last year but did not pitch after April 28 because of a strained left shoulder. He had season-ending surgery in August to repair a small tear in his rotator cuff.
In 2006, Chacin was limited to 17 starts because of an elbow strain.
Chacin is the only left-handed starter on Toronto’s roster. The rest of the projected rotation includes right-handers Roy Halladay, A.J. Burnett, Shaun Marcum, Dustin McGowan and Jesse Litsch.
Tallet appeared in a career-high 48 games for Toronto in 2007, going 2-4 with a 3.47 ERA. He struck out 54 and walked 28.
