Drew Hutchison will narrowly miss eligibility for salary arbitration and his first shot at a seven-figure MLB payday this off-season, according to an industry source.
The Toronto Blue Jays right-hander finished the 2014 season with two years and 128 days of service time, but baseball’s super two cutoff for arbitration eligibility will be two years and 133 days, according to the source. That leaves Hutchison five days shy.
Players are typically arbitration eligible three times before reaching free agency, but super twos — the most experienced players with between two and three years of service — are eligible for arbitration four times, which means they earn more than their peers before reaching the open market.
While the super two cutoff prevents Hutchison from going to arbitration, it doesn’t affect his timeline to the open market. He’s still on track to be eligible following the 2018 season.
Hutchison started 32 games for the Blue Jays in 2014, posting a 4.48 ERA in 184.2 innings. The 2009 15th-round draft pick allowed 173 hits, including 23 home runs, while striking out 184 batters and walking 60. He debuted in 2012 then missed the 2013 season recovering from Tommy John surgery (but still accruing MLB service time).
The Blue Jays’ class of arbitration eligible players includes Brett Cecil, Brett Lawrie, Juan Francisco, John Mayberry Jr. and Danny Valencia. DJ LeMahieu of the Colorado Rockies and Eduardo Escobar of the Minnesota Twins also project to fall just shy of arbitration eligibility.