José Berríos will speak at a press conference on Thursday, November 18, 2021 with Ross Atkins, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Baseball at the Rogers Center in Toronto, announcing a seven-year extension with the Toronto Blue Jays. .. Tijana Martin / Canadian Press via AP)
Toronto (AP) — Two months with the Toronto Blue Jays was enough to change José Berríos’s thinking about waiting another year to reach a free agent.
Berríos signed a $ 131 million seven-year contract to stay with the Blue Jays on Thursday and missed the opportunity to become a free agent next offseason.
A two-time all-star, 27-year-old right-handed man said his decision was simplified by a brief experience of life in Toronto after the Blue Jays bought him from Minnesota on July 30. Told.
“It was enough to make this decision because they welcomed me how they treated me,” Berríos said. “The way we spent the last two months of the season here made this decision easier and more comfortable.”
Berríos started 12 times in Toronto, 5-4 at 3.58 ERA and finished 12-9 at 3.52 ERA. The Blue Jays won 91 games and finished one shyly at the wildcard berth draw in the fiercely competitive AL East.
Vibrant Berríos revealed in 2022 that he did not want to run short again.
“We can promise to do a lot of good things for the city,” he said. “We are going to have a very good time.”
Berríos hit the best 204 batters of his career in 192 innings in 2021. He is 60-47 and has an earned run average of 4.04 in six big league seasons.
Berríos said his wife had visited him in Toronto after being traded last summer, but his three children had not visited his new home until the deal was signed.
“They love the city,” he said. “They ask me every day if we’re going to play tonight.”
Ross Atkins, general manager of the Blue Jays, added that Berríos is “one of the best reputations in baseball” and the deal is “a very big moment for this organization.”
“Beyond that talent and the competitiveness and ability to execute in the field, he is one of the best humans in the game,” Atkins said of Berríos. “This is very powerful for this organization. What does this mean for players who will be teammates now and in the future?”
The Blue Jays have begun to lay the groundwork for discussing new contracts before the end of the regular season, Atkins said.
“At the end of the season, it was one of the first calls we made,” Atkins said.
Berríos from Puerto Rico was ranked 32nd overall in the Twins at the 2012 Amateur Draft. He hasn’t been on the injured list for six years and has made 32 starts in each of the last three seasons.
Atkins praised Berríos as “as consistent as professional athletes around the world.”
“The credibility of a person like Jose is very strong,” Atkins said. “We obviously appreciate it very much.”
This is the third-ever $ 100 million or more deal in the Blue Jays and the second in many winters. Toronto signed a $ 150 million six-year contract with outfielder George Springer last season.
Still, Atkins argues that the deal with Berríos does not prevent Toronto from pursuing other free agents, including left-handed Robbie Ray and infielder Marcus Semien, who won the AL Cy Young Award at the Blue Jays this season. bottom.
“We promise to continue to build on that core,” Atkins said.
Outfielder Vernon Wells and the Blue Jays signed a $ 126 million seven-year contract in 2006.
By pairing veterans such as Springer and Berríos with exciting young sluggers Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette, Atkins has changed the way the emerging Blue Jays are perceived among free agents. Said that.
“Now it feels like a key player is courting us as much as a player,” Atkins said.
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Comfortable Berríos skips free agents to stay in the Blue Jays | WGN Radio 720
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