Toronto Blue Jays: Three Options Exercised, One Declined

Team keeps closer Janssen, DH Lind and utilityman DeRosa.

John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

With the 2013-2014 off-season now underway, the Toronto Blue Jays wasted no time in addressing contracts which included options.

The club picked up the $4MM option on Casey Janssen. Janssen serves as the Blue Jays primary closer, converting 34 of 36 save opportunities. Over the past two seasons serving in that role, Janssen is impressive in converting 56 of 61 save opportunities. This past season, Janssen posted a record of 4-1 with an ERA of 2.56 and a WHIP of 0.987.

Adam Lind will be returning the the club as his option for $7MM was exercised. In 2013, Lind’s triple slash was .288/.357/.497 as he belted 23 homers and drove in 67 runs. Lind rebounded from three consecutive seasons of subpar performance to produce an OPS+ of 132 for 2013.

The club option of $750K for Mark DeRosa was picked up by the club. DeRosa played played in 88 games this past season and compiled a triple slash of .235/.326/.407 with 7 home runs and 36 RBI. His position flexibility saw him play four different defensive positions: first base (13), second base (23), and third base (20). He also served as a DH (14) and 32 pinch-hitting appearances.

Michael Wray of Jays Journal notes there’s no guarantee DeRosa will return to the Blue Jays for the 2014 season. De Rosa could opt to retire.

The club decided to decline the $1MM option held on middle infielder and fan favorite Munenori Kawasaki. The bulk of Kawasaki’s work came at the beginning of the season serving as a fill-in for the injured Jose Reyes. As a starter, Kawasaki hit .238 and posted an OBP of .337.