Toronto Blue Jays: Ken Giles avoids arbitration; trade still in play
Closer Ken Giles avoided arbitration with the Toronto Blue Jays after signing a 1-year, $9.6 million dollar deal. Still no guarantee he finishes the season in Toronto.
Acquired in a trade with the Houston Astros, Ken Giles has been the Toronto Blue Jays de-facto closer since his arrival midway through the 2018 season.
Since being traded to Toronto, Giles has crafted a 2.48 ERA along with 105 strikeouts and 37 saves in 72.2 innings of work. His 2019 campaign was his best season in T.O., as he would go on to pitch a stellar 1.87 ERA, 83 strikeouts, 23 saves and only 1 blown save.
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Giles also made headlines during 2019 spring training, as audio coverage caught the hard-throwing right-hander losing it on fellow pitcher David Paulino for not hustling during an infield drill session.
On a rebuilding organization such as the Toronto Blue Jays, veteran players like Giles are usually not on the roster for long.
Former players Justin Smoak, Aaron Sanchez, and Marcus Stroman departed the team this past season via trades and free agency, and there were rumors floating around all last season that Giles would be shown the door as well.
The Albuquerque, New Mexico native would go on to finish the season with the Blue Jays and just avoided arbitration with the club this off-season, agreeing to a 1 year deal worth $9.6 million dollars for the 2020 season.
The #BlueJays and Ken Giles have reportedly avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $9.6M deal.https://t.co/U5M6znrJzI
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) January 10, 2020
Even with this new deal, the trade rumors will no doubt still fly this year as the organization inches closer and closer to the end of the rebuild.
The fact of the matter rests solely on his current contract situation, in that he will become a free agent after next season and general manager Ross Atkins prides himself on acquiring young, controllable talent as the Blue Jays look to become a playoff team once again.
This decision will be made even easier for the Blue Jays brass if Giles comes out of the gates and pitches well, boosting his trade stock and making the return/demand for his services that much greater for the veteran closer. Teams looking for help in the bullpen and vying for playoff spots could overpay for the closer if he is performing well, something the Blue Jays could capitalize on if they don’t plan on offering him a long term contract.
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When the dust settles, I just don’t see a scenario where Giles stays in Toronto past this season, and I believe the Blue Jays management team knows this as well. He will most likely price himself out of the range that Atkins and co. will be comfortable paying, and they might as well seek some sort of return for his services midway through the season to help bolster the rebuild.