Toronto Blue Jays president Paul Beeston confirmed that the team had discussions about deferring player salaries in order to sign Ervin Santana, but it remains unclear whether it was the front office or the players who initiated the idea.
Appearing on CBC’s Metro Morning on Friday, Beeston was asked about a recent report from Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal that Blue Jays players were willing to defer salary to create room for Santana before he signed a one-year, $14.1 million deal with the Atlanta Braves.
“There was discussion about that,” Beeston said. “To be very honest with you, if it had gone that way, it would have been fine. We’re at $140 million right now. The one thing we do have is a very generous owner from the point of view of what they have committed to try and build the team.
Beeston added that the team does in fact have a budget but there isn’t a specific “cap” on what ownership is willing to spend.
“We’re a business so we have a budget. So it’s not a cap because if we can increase our revenue, we can increase our expenses. We run it as a business.”
According to USA Today, the Blue Jays have the ninth-biggest Opening Day payroll in the major leagues.
Beeston said he is comfortable with what the Blue Jays have spent on their current big-league roster. He said they have spent significant dollars trying to upgrade the team and have done a good job developing talent from within.
“Money isn’t a problem. One of the issues that we have is we had to build our farm system up. We’ve done that over the last three or four years but it’s not like hockey or not like basketball where you come right out of the colleges and the minor leagues and move right to the major leagues.”
“We have guys like (Marcus) Stroman and (Aaron) Sanchez. Those are the guys you want to have in your organization. You need a mixture of the players at the minimum with the ones that are your stars. You don’t win without stars. “
Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos has yet to comment on the Santana reports.