UPDATE: Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star reports that the Jays and Janssen have agreed to a two-year, $5.9 million contract with a $4 million option for 2014. The new deal buys out his final year of arbitration and potentially his first two years of free agency.
3:29 PM: Casey Janssen and the Blue Jays are close to signing a two-year deal that would buy out his final season of arbitration eligibility and cover his first year of free agency, according to Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.
No word yet on the money, but Janssen asked for $2.2 million in arbitration while the Blue Jays countered at $1.8 million.
Janssen was briefly demoted to Triple-A in April because he had a minor-league option remaining and there was a bullpen logjam. He also spent a big chunk of the season on the disabled list with a forearm injury, but still logged 56 innings with a 2.26 ERA and 53/14 K/BB ratio. He’s quietly emerged as one of the league’s top setup men, posting a 2.91 ERA in 199 career relief outings.
Davidi notes that Toronto hasn’t gone through with an arbitration hearing since way back in 1997.
