Matt Shoemaker settles ahead of arbitration with one-year, $4.2 million deal

One more down, one more to go. The Blue Jays and Matt Shoemaker have reportedly avoided arbitration, agreeing on a one-year deal worth $4.2 million. The deal is $400k above what Shoemaker was projected to earn in arbitration by MLB Trade Rumours.

Under a day after the Jays reached an agreement with Brandon Drury on a one-year deal, they’ve also settled with Shoemaker, leaving Ken Giles as the only remaining player potentially headed to arbitration.

It’ll be interesting to see if Shoemaker can build on his incredible, albeit short season with the Blue Jays last year. The oft-injured righty was non-tendered by the Angels and scooped up out of the bargain-bin by the Jays before spring training last year. In five starts, he posted a sparkling 1.57 ERA, but had his season ended when he injured himself in a run-down with a baserunner in Oakland.

Given how good he looked in that five-game sample, it really isn’t a surprise at all to see the Jays take another risk on Shoemaker. There had been some talk earlier in the off-season that he would be open to a longer-term deal, but the Jays are rolling with the one-year, show-me instead.

Had he gone to arbitration and received a salary figure through that process, the Jays still could have cut him in spring training without any obligations. Coming to terms on an actual deal means Shoemaker, barring disaster, will be part of the Blue Jays’ rotation.