The Blue Jays have avoided arbitration with infielder/outfielder Brandon Drury, agreeing to a one-year, $2.05MM deal for the 2020 season, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets.
MLBTR projected Drury for a $2.5MM arb figure, so he’ll get a significantly smaller raise than expected over his $1.3MM salary from the 2019 season. Then again, Drury did little to enhance his value after a sub-replacement level (-0.6 fWAR, -0.2 bWAR) 2019 campaign that saw him hit only .218/.262/.380 with 15 home runs over 447 plate appearances. This makes it consecutive negative-WAR seasons for Drury, following an abbreviated 26-game year with the Jays and Yankees in 2018.
Drury will now be fighting to keep a superutility role next year, hoping that his versatility can keep him on the roster long enough to revive his bat. Drury spent most of his time at third base prior to Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s promotion, and also saw action at second base, first base, both corner outfield slots, and five games at shortstop.
Ken Giles and Matt Shoemaker are Toronto’s two remaining arbitration-eligible players, as per MLBTR’s Arbitration Tracker. Teams have until 11am tomorrow to exchange figures with their arb-eligibles. Giles is projected for an $8.4MM deal, and Shoemaker for a $3.8MM salary.