Blue Jays Avoid Arbitration With Colby Rasmus, Agree To One-Year Deal
The Toronto Blue Jays entered yesterday with six players who are arbitration-eligible. Now, there is one less, as the team has agreed to a one-year term with centrefielder Colby Rasmus, a deal worth $2.7 million dollars.
Now, I suppose the post could end at that, but while we’re on the subject, let’s discuss Rasmus a little further.
One of the two players that manager John Farrell named as key pieces to the Blue Jays’ success factor in the upcoming season, Colby Rasmus was someone who was probably pretty glad to see a change of scenery after a tough first few months of 2011 with the Cardinals. And it probably says a lot that Rasmus still has the total confidence of the Blue Jays brass, and most fans, after an disastrous introduction to the AL East – all 140 PAs worth of it, anyway.
So while most of us would probably totally ignore the small sample size of Rasmus’s performance at the plate as a Blue Jay, I think it would be fair to say that our centrefielder of the future wouldn’t be long for that position if he started off the first few months of the upcoming season with sub-.200 BA, .517 OPS numbers. Yes, the kid is still just 25, his talents are immense, and Toronto won the initial deal unequivocally…all that is still true, but that being said, it’s not Rasmus’s first trip around the block. He’ll be entering his 4th full season of work as a starter, and already had somewhat of a breakout season with a 4.3 WAR 2010. He was certainly hurt by an abnormally low BABIP (not that it’s super-useful in a SSS), but I would imagine a regression to the extent of his 140 PAs last season isn’t going to be acceptable for even the most ardent of Rasmus supporters.
The good news is that there is statistical evidence suggesting he will be better in 2012. He’s not a 0.13 BB/K player, and his plate discipline should normalize with his first full season in the AL. The big question for me as a fan, isn’t so much if he can get back to a 3.5+ WAR season, but when we’ll see him fully realise his potential and improve on his 2010. After all, prospects and young players are expected to continually get better into their prime, and Rasmus is no exception.
I’m sure this won’t be the last time I talk about Colby Rasmus here before the start of the 2012 season. Until then, we await contract agreements with the 5 remaining arb-eligible Blue Jays: Casey Janssen, Ben Francisco, Brandon Morrow, Kelly Johnson, and Carlos Villanueva.
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I certainly agree that Rasmus is is a major key to the JAYS 2012 season.
He has shown good defensive abilities in center field. If he could realize
his potential as a batter the JAYS would have the offensive line-up they
need to contend in the AL East. Rasmus is capable of hitting many more
home runs and a much higher batting average.
A top end performance from Rasmus gives the JAYS power and a decent
average at every position. A 2011 like performance leaves the JAYS with a
big hole in center field and having the additional worry of a slump
coming from one of the other players.
I agree. He looked great defensively but needs to hit considerably more consistently. I still feel the Jays made a poor decision to ignore Fielder. Lind and Bautista’s power numbers dropped considerably in the second half last year because Lind is strikeout prone and provides little protection for Juan who will keep being walked. If this scenario doesn’t change I can’t see the Jays improving despite having a nice young talented team otherwise.