Comfortable BerrÃos skips free agency to stay with Blue Jays
TORONTO (AP) - Two months with the Toronto Blue Jays was enough to make José BerrÃos change his mind about waiting one more year to reach free agency.
BerrÃos finalized a $131 million, seven-year deal to stay with the Blue Jays on Thursday, passing up the opportunity to become a free agent next offseason.
A two-time All Star, the 27-year-old right=hander said his decision was simplified by getting a brief experience of life in Toronto after the Blue Jays acquired him from Minnesota on July 30.
'œThat was enough to make this decision because of the way they treated me, the nice welcome they gave me,'ť BerrÃos said. 'œThe way I spent my last two months of the season here made it more easy and comfortable to make this decision.'ť
He gets a $5 million signing bonus, half payable on Jan. 31 and the rest on April 30. BerrÃos receives salaries of $10 million next season, $15 million in 2023, $17 million in 2024, $18 million each in 2025 and '~26, and $24 million both in 2027 and '28.
BerrÃos can opt out after the 2026 season to become a free agent, giving up $48 million over the final two seasons.
He has up to $5 million in escalators for 2027 and '28 that he can earn in 2025 and '26: $1 million each for 300 and 350 innings combined and $500,000 apiece for 375 and 400. He also would earn $2 million for a Cy Young Award in each of those years, $1.5 million for second through fifth in the voting and $750,000 for sixth through 10th.
BerrÃos went 5-4 with a 3.58 ERA in 12 starts with Toronto, finishing 12-9 with a 3.52 ERA. The Blue Jays won 91 games, finishing one victory shy of a tie for a wild card berth in the competitive AL East.
An invigorated BerrÃos made it clear he didn't want to fall short again in 2022.
"I can promise we're going to do a lot of good things for the city,'ť he said. 'œWe're going to have a lot of fun.'ť
BerrÃos struck out a career-high 204 batters over 192 innings in 2021. He is 60-47 with a 4.04 ERA in six big league seasons.
BerrÃos said his wife visited him in Toronto after he was traded last summer, but said his three kids hadn't visited their new home until the deal was reached.
'œThey love the city,'ť he said. 'œThey ask me every day if we're going to play tonight.'ť
Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said BerrÃos has 'œone of the best reputations in baseball,'ť adding the contract represents 'œa very big moment for this organization.
'œBeyond that talent and that competitiveness and execution that you see on the field is one of the best human beings in the game,'ť Atkins said of BerrÃos. 'œThat is extremely powerful for this organization, what that means for players who will be his teammates today and in the future.'ť
Atkins said the Blue Jays started laying the groundwork for discussions on a new contract before the end of the regular season.
'œWhen the season ended, it was one of the first phone calls we made,'ť Atkins said.
BerrÃos, who is from Puerto Rico, was taken 32nd overall by the Twins in the 2012 amateur draft. He has never been on the injured list in his six-year career, making 32 starts in each of the past three full seasons.
Atkins praised BerrÃos for being 'œas consistent as any professional athlete in the world.'ť
'œThe dependability, the reliability of someone like José is exceptionally powerful,'ť Atkins said. 'œWe obviously value that a great deal.'ť
This is the third $100 million-plus deal in Blue Jays history and the second in as many winters - Toronto signed outfielder George Springer to a $150 million, six-year contract last offseason.
Still, Atkins insisted that signing BerrÃos would not prevent Toronto from pursuing other free agents, including left-hander Robbie Ray, who won the AL Cy Young Award with the Blue Jays this season, and slugging infielder Marcus Semien.
'œWe are committed to continue to build upon that core,'ť Atkins said.
Outfielder Vernon Wells and the Blue Jays agreed to a $126 million, seven-year contract in 2006.
By pairing veterans such as Springer and BerrÃos alongside exciting young sluggers Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette, Atkins said the emerging Blue Jays have seen a change in the way they're perceived among free agents.
'œNow we're feeling like key players are courting us as much as we're courting players,'ť Atkins said.
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AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum contributed to this report.
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