Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Kevin Gregg works from the mound against the Tampa Bay Rays during the ninth inning of their MLB American League baseball game in St. Petersburg, Florida April 23, 2010. REUTERS/Scott AudetteSCOTT AUDETTE/Reuters
The Toronto Blue Jays have been successful at avoiding the salary arbitration process over the years and the pattern can be expected to continue.
Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos offered salary arbitration to five of the American League team's free agents in advance of the 12 a.m. deadline Tuesday, more of a bookkeeping chore than anything else.
The move ensures the Blue Jays will receive draft picks should any of the players decide to sign with another team.
Relievers Scott Downs, Jason Frasor, Kevin Gregg and catcher Miguel Olivo have all been offered salary arbitration by the club.
So has John Buck, which was a formality as the all-star catcher has already agreed to a three-year, $18-million (all currency U.S.) contract with the Florida Marlins.
Buck is a Type B free agent and the Blue Jays will receive one compensatory pick in the 2011 first-year player draft.
Downs, Frasor, Gregg and Olivo have until Nov. 30 to either accept or decline Toronto's arbitration offer.
Should they decide to forgo free agency and accept - and that's a big if, especially for Downs and Frasor who are expected to garner plenty of interest on the free-agent market - the players can try to negotiate a new deal with the club or rely on the arbitration process to determine their new salary.
Arbitration hearings will be held in February and the Blue Jays have a pretty good history of avoiding that process.
The last time the Blue Jays went through an arbitration hearing was with reliever Bill Risley in 1997.
"The arbitration process is designed to help get deals done," Anthopoulos said. "But I don't think anybody would ever tell you it's in anybody's best interests."
Both Downs and Frasor are coming off solid years and have been classified as Type A free agents, which means the Blue Jays would be eligible to receive two compensatory draft picks if they opted to sign with a new club.
A total of 35 free agents have been offered arbitration throughout major-league baseball in what is shaping up to be an interesting off-season.
Several of the game's biggest stars, including Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and Manny Ramirez, who has expressed an interest in playing for the Blue Jays in 2011, were not offered arbitration.
That means those players are free to sign with any club they want without the signing team having to give up draft choices in return.
The Blue Jays are expected to go hard at trying to reach a deal with Olivo now that Buck has left.
The Blue Jays acquired the 32-year-old from the Colorado Rockies in early November and immediately declined his $2.5-million option for the 2011 season, opting instead to buy out the remainder of his contract for $500,000.
The move granted Olivo Type B free-agent status and, more importantly, it bought the club more time to evaluate the market to see if there might be a better fit for them behind the plate.
As it stands now, the two leading catching candidates the Blue Jays currently control for next season are the inexperienced J. P. Arencibia and Jose Molina, the team's backup last season who is not regarded as an everyday player.
Anthopoulos said that while the team believes Arencibia has a "high ceiling" after hitting .301 with 32 home runs and 85 runs batted in with Triple-A Las Vegas last season, it is impossible to predict when he'll be ready for full-time duty at the major-league level.
Toronto first baseman Lyle Overbay is also a free agent that the team did not offer arbitration to.
The 33-year-old did not put up the kind of numbers that made him a ranked free agent and the Blue Jays will not receive any compensation if he signs with another club.