RADIO
Outfielder Jon Jay will avoid salary arbitration with the St. Louis Cardinals after the team announced a two-year deal through 2016.
#STLCards reach agreement with OF @jonjayU on a 2-year contract through 2016, thus avoiding salary arbitration. pic.twitter.com/FnzZilgzHN
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) February 9, 2015
Additional details of the agreed contract come from Derrick Goold, the lead beat writer for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, indicating that the contract is worth $10.975 million according to a source. In addition, Jay will receive a $1.25 million signing bonus.
With signing bonus, Jay's deal is worth a total of $10.975 million over two years. Gets a $3.5m salary for 2015, per a source. #cardinals
— Derrick Goold (@dgoold) February 9, 2015
Jay, 29, has spent the past five years as a regular in the Cardinals outfield, often seen in center field. While his contributions are not eye-catching, he has provided consistency. In his five seasons with the Cardinals, he has a .295/.359/.396 line.
He does not hit for power, with a career-high 10 home runs in 2011, and hit just three home runs in the 2014 season. A part of Jay's game that he provides to the Cardinals is defense. Over the last three seasons, Jon Jay has committed just three errors in the outfield, including a 2012 campaign without a single error.
Jay is expected to handle a majority of center field responsibilities with Matt Holliday in left field and the recently acquired Jason Heyward in right field.
