“I can comfortably say that a contract extension is better than a free agent contract this winter.”
Jose Berrios was traded from the Minnesota Twins to the Toronto Blue Jays with a year and a half left in free agency. Of course, Ryu Hyun-jin is the ace, but he was already in his mid-30s. Toronto calculated that Berrios would be the center of the rotation for the long term.
In fact, Ryu Hyun-jin suffered from rapid ups and downs from the middle of the 2021 season. Berrios was fine with an average ERA of 3.58 in 12 games after the transfer. As a result, Toronto’s winning streak remained a failed deal along with a failure to qualify for the postseason.
However, the first thing the Toronto leadership did in the 2021-2022 offseason was to sign a 7-year, $131 million (approximately 161.8 billion won) contract extension with Berrios. There was no internal FA crackdown or outside FA recruiting. Berrios and Kevin Gaussman were set up 안전놀이터 as new one-two punches, and the reliance on Ryu Hyun-jin was reduced.
Toronto returned to the postseason in the 2022 season, but Berrios went 12-7 with a 5.23 ERA in 32 games. The effect of preoccupying the right-handed ace with a year before FA qualification could not be confirmed at least in the 2022 season. He won 12 wins, but his detailed stats were poor.
It was the lowest ERA among all major league pitchers who filled the required innings. His 1.42 WHIP was also the lowest among American League pitchers who completed the required innings. His 29 home runs were behind fourth among American League pitchers. Although he threw 172 healthy innings, he had three seasons in which he had already exceeded 190 innings.