Skip to content

Blue Jays, Smoak agree to 2-year extension

Tom Szczerbowski / Getty Images Sport / Getty

The Toronto Blue Jays have signed first baseman Justin Smoak to a two-year contract extension worth $8.25 million, the team announced Saturday.

The contract also includes a $6-million club option for 2019 that could reach $8 million thanks to escalator clauses based on plate appearances, according to Sportsnet's Shi Davidi. The Blue Jays can also choose to buy out the option for $250,000.

Smoak was due to become a free agent after this season, but expressed fondness for the team and his teammates as part of the reasoning behind signing the extension.

"We love it here," the 29-year-old told reporters. "We've got a great team, great clubhouse, (and) we're going to be good, I feel like, for a while."

Related - Atkins: Smoak extension doesn't impact ability to sign Encarnacion

Known more for his glove work at first base than his bat, the switch-hitting Smoak owns a .234/.333/.402 line with nine homers over 82 games this season. In 2015, as part of a first-base platoon with Chris Colabello, he slugged 18 homers to help the Blue Jays reach the postseason for the first time since 1993.

Smoak, drafted 11th overall by the Texas Rangers in 2008, came to the Blue Jays as a waiver claim in October 2014. The 29-year-old owns a career .225/.310/.393 line with 101 home runs in 780 games with the Blue Jays, Rangers, and Seattle Mariners.

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox