Justin Smoak, Blue Jays Agree to New Contract: Latest Details and Reaction

Facing an offseason of change and uncertainty, the Toronto Blue Jays are bringing back first baseman Justin Smoak on a one-year deal for 2016.According to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports, the Blue Jays tendered Smoak a contract worth $3.9 million ahead of Wednesday's midnight deadline for teams to offer contracts to arbitration-eligible players.Toronto has already experienced the pain of winter, losing ace pitcher David Price to American League East rival Boston Red Sox, perPete Abrahamof theBoston Globe.Since the Blue Jays aren't likely to swim in those deep free-agent waters, new team president Mark Shapiro seems poised to keep making smaller deals, like bringing back Smoak and adding J.A. Happ, in an effort to keep the team in the postseason mix next season.Smoak is entering his final year under team control and will be eligible for free agency for the first time in his career next offseason, barring a long-term extension with Toronto.The Blue Jays acquired Smoak from the Seattle Mariners in Oct. 2014, but opted not to tender him a contract by the Dec. 2 deadline before signing him to a one-year, $1 million deal.Once regarded as the No. 2 prospect in Texas' system, Smoak has struggled to make an impact in the big leagues. The 28-year-old has a career slash line of .224/.308/.392, but he did slug a career-high .470 and tied a career-high appearing in 132 games with the Blue Jays in 2015.While Smoak's offense has been lacking, he did have the best defensive season of his career last year with four defensive runs saved and an ultimate zone rating of 2.2, per FanGraphs. Toronto's offensive firepower does put less pressure on him to post big stats, despite playing an offensive position.The Blue Jays can use Smoak as a defensive replacement late in games, using Chris Colabello's superior offensive capability to get the best of both worlds from first base next season.
Click here to read full news..