George Springer and Toronto Blue Jays agree to $ 150 million 6-year contract, sources say



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Outfielder George Springer and the Toronto Blue Jays have agreed to a six-year, $ 150 million contract, sources have confirmed to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.

Springer will be heading to the Blue Jays Spring Training Center in Dunedin, Fla., For a workout. If all goes according to plan, Toronto will get the star it has been looking for all winter.

Springer, the spark plug for the No. 1 Houston Astros offense for the past four seasons, was one of the most coveted free agents in the market this offseason. He hit a team-high 14 home runs this season and added four more in the playoffs, as the Astros lost to the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Championship Series.

As several of his teammates fought offensively last season amid the fallout from the 2017 sign-stealing scandal, Springer, who earned $ 21 million on a one-year contract after avoiding arbitration, has continued to do better numbers since then – reaching. with 32 RBIs in 51 games in 2020 while lowering his strikeout rate to 17.1%, a career best.

He passed on a one-year qualifying offer of $ 18.9 million from the Astros, who will secure a compensation draft pick with him by signing with a new team.

Ahead of the pandemic-cut short 2020 season, Springer hit 20 home runs in five of the previous six seasons. He won three consecutive All-Star nods from 2017-19 and was named 2017 World Series MVP in 2017, when the Astros beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in seven games.

Springer performed at his best during the big moments, hitting 19 home runs in the playoffs, which is tied for fourth all-time. He also ranks sixth for slugging percentage (0.546), seventh for extra base hits (34) and is tied for 14th in runs scored (43).

Since his debut in 2014, Springer has been one of the best non-first-place hitters in all of baseball, ranking second in homers (136), third in RBI (352) and fourth in hits ( 665) and extra-core results (254), according to ESPN Stats & Information. He also hit a first inning home run 39 times during his career, which ranks fourth in American League history.

In 2019, Springer set career highs with a batting average of 0.292, slugging percentage of 0.591, base percentage of 0.383 and 6.2 WAR (wins over substitution).

Defensively, Springer continues to be very solid as an everyday center-back at the age of 31 and could easily slide to either corner of the outfield if needed.

Overall, in seven seasons with the Astros, Springer is .270 career average with 174 home runs and 458 home runs.

Blue Jays Nation first announced the deal on Tuesday night, while MLB Network first had the terms.

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