The St. Louis Cardinals and Jon Jay have avoided arbitration, the team announced this afternoon. The 30-year-old center fielder agreed to terms on a 2 year deal worth $10.975 million. The deal includes a $1.25 million signing bonus, $3.5 million salary for 2015 and $6.225 million salary for 2016. The total value was originally reported by Derrick Goold.
Jay and the team had been nearing an arbitration hearing, which would have been the first by the Cardinals since 1999. However, the streak has been kept alive.
The deal essentially pays Jay $4.75 million this season (signing bonus plus first year salary) That’s in the middle of their submitted arbitration figures, but closer to Jay’s asking price. The Cardinals submitted an offer of $4.1 million in arbitration while Jay asked for $5 million.
With Jay it’s difficult to know exactly what the organization has in store for him. Even with my expectation that Jay will decline and lose his starting job this season, a two year deal is not a bad thing. Both sides gain some certainty on cost and salary.
But the Cardinals have at least three internal candidates to replace Jay in center field should he slip. What will happen if and when he does will provide much angst for Cardinals fans.
They have Peter Bourjos, who was acquired as insurance for Jay and even won the starting job out of camp last year before losing it in May to a red hot Jay. He is cheaper and plays better defense, though what you can expect out of his bat is still a big question mark. After hip surgery this offseason, hopefully Bourjos is finally healthy enough to contribute on a regular basis.
They also have Randal Grichuk, who was acquired in the same trade as Bourjos, and even took hold of the starting job in right field over Oscar Taveras last September with a strong month. But following Taveras’ untimely death and the acquisition of Jason Heyward, he is a man looking for an opportunity now. He can play center field, but how well he can hit right handed pitching has been his question mark. He will need to solve that problem to be a realistic candidate for a starting job.
Then there is Tommy Pham. He’s a fairly little known prospect that seemingly quietly led the Memphis Redbirds in batting average and on base percentage and was only surpassed in slugging percentage by Xavier Scruggs and Grichuk. He plays defense, he has speed, and can hit. Injuries have slowed him during his minor league career, but he was finally healthy last year and it showed. He was placed on the 40 man roster this fall to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft, so he will likely make an appearance in St. Louis this season in some capacity.
Jay’s new $6.225 million salary for 2016 may make him a little more difficult to trade. Especially if he struggles this year. He is still going to be paid roughly equivalent to his value, which is good, but the most attractive candidates for other teams in trade are those getting paid less than their production would warrant.
Overall, good deal for Jay. The Cardinals are happy to have this wrapped up and have the team prepared to head to Spring Training here over the next couple weeks. Let’s play some baseball!
