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Toronto Blue Jays Avoid Arbitration with Darwin Barney and Ezequiel Carrera

By Chris Okrainetz

Jul 9, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Darwin Barney (18) throws to first to get out Detroit Tigers second baseman Ian Kinsler (not pictured) in the fourth inning at Rogers Centre. Detroit defeated Toronto 3-2. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 9, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Darwin Barney (18) throws to first to get out Detroit Tigers second baseman Ian Kinsler (not pictured) in the fourth inning at Rogers Centre. Detroit defeated Toronto 3-2. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Toronto Blue Jays avoided arbitration and reached an agreement with utility man Darwin Barney and outfielder Ezequiel Carrera, according to Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports.

Both Barney and Carrera received significant raises from the Toronto Blue Jays, but it was Barney’s salary that was the most surprising when you consider MLB Trade Rumors projected him to earn $1.6 million this offseason. MLBTR’s projection would have still be a nice step up from the $1.05 million he made during the 2016 season, but the 31-year-old will instead receive just over a $1.8 million raise for this upcoming year.

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Last season Barney played in 104 games, hitting .269 with four home runs, 19 RBI and a .695 OPS. His true value came in the field, though, where the former Gold Glove winner played six different positions for the Blue Jays and was the perfect stop-gap when Troy Tulowitzki and Devon Travis were injured.

Given the injury history of both Tulo and Travis, Barney could once again prove to be an invaluable asset for the Blue Jays during the 2017 season.

As for Carrera, he will likely once again pencil in as the team’s fourth outfielder and platoon Melvin Upton Jr. Both Dalton Pompey and Steve Pearce will be nipping at his heels, though, and both will likely cut into his playing time this season.

Last season Carrera set career highs with 110 games played and 47 runs scored. However, his playoff run aside, he did struggle at the plate last season, hitting .248 and boasting a robust 22.6 percent strikeout rate.

Needless to say, but if Carrera is going platoon left field with Upton this year, the Blue Jays will need him to perform better at the plate. A career .255/.314/.351 hitter, I’d say to temper expectations when it comes to Carrera this season.

Next: Are the Blue Jays Avoiding a Reunion with Bautista?

With Barney and Carrera now under contract, the Blue Jays’ payroll sits around $127.2 million, according to Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi, and the only arbitration eligible players left are Aaron Loup and Marcus Stroman. The deadline for teams and players to exchange figures is Friday, so I’m sure we’ll hear some news about both players at some point today.

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