Needing to decide whether or not to make a long-term to commitment to Aaron Hill, the Toronto Blue Jays opted to take a wait-and-see approach with their second baseman Friday.
The difficult decision to reject a trio of options that would have locked up Hill up through the 2014 season, left general manager Alex Anthopoulos insisting that the team hasn’t lost any confidence in the former all-star, and that he remains an important part of the club’s future.
"I see him as a core player. He’s what we’re about," Anthopoulos said. "Just in light of the fact he was a little bit banged up last year and in the spring, and because of the season last year, we think it makes sense for the organization to have him play and then we can make a determination one way or another.
"It’s just something with the way that the options are priced, that we’re better off being able to wait."
Hill batted just .205 with 26 home runs and 68 RBIs last year after an all-star season in 2009 when he hit .286 with 36 homers and 108 RBIs. He struggled with a hamstring problem at the beginning of 2010 and fought an uphill battle the rest of the way, while this spring he has had to overcome a right quad issue.
The three options would have paid Hill US$8 million in both 2012 and 2013, plus US$10 million more in 2014. Between now and the end of the World Series the Blue Jays can still exercise the options for 2012 and 2013, or they can decline them and make Hill a free agent.
Another possibility is that the Blue Jays add some extra years beyond the two options, something that might come up if Hill quickly regains his 2009 form. Either way, Hill insisted he wasn’t taking the decision as an indication that the team has lost any confidence in him.
"It would be easy to look at it that way," he conceded. "I’m open-minded, I can put myself in their shoes. Business-wise, it makes sense for them to do it. No hard feelings from me, I get to go out and play a game for a living and play for a lot more years, hopefully."
Anthopoulos has shown already that he isn’t afraid to negotiate in-season, locking up Ricky Romero last summer.
And if the Jays are willing, Hill is willing.
"He knows I want to stay here, there’s no reason why we can’t keep the lines of communication open throughout the year and just see what happens," said Hill.
The unique contract structure was part of a deal Hill agreed to on opening day 2008 that guaranteed him US$12 million through the current season.
While the deal could have possibly created some bad feelings between the team and player, Anthopoulos insisted it had worked as planned by securing Hill’s financial future while providing the Blue Jays with some salary protection.
"We guaranteed him (financially) what Orlando Hudson made going year-to-year, winning Gold Gloves, being on playoff teams," said Anthopoulos. "The options were priced at a level that were going to make (the decision) hard for the club, to protect the player for the upside. It achieved that.
"We will never do a deal where we just sign someone through their arbitration years. There’s no upside for the club. We need to have some type of control, some type of upside and value to us."
Hill insisted that the decision would provide him with no extra motivation, saying that the desire to return to form after a down year in 2010 is enough to drive him to a big year in 2011.
The Blue Jays would love nothing more than to see it happen and then reward him accordingly.
"He knows we all want him to be a part of this for the long-term, just like anything, it has to make sense for him and for us at the right price," said Anthopoulos. "He certainly has a strong chance of being here for three years and we certainly can continue to explore going beyond that."
