The Toronto Blue Jays Unexpectedly Extend Dustin McGowan For 2 Years

Published: 26^th Mar 12 4:32 pm

Mark Hock
Mark

RANT It!

Tom Szczerbowski - US Presswire

The Toronto Blue Jays have just extended injury prone starter Dustin McGowan to a long term extension. The deal is worth $3 million over the next two seasons, followed by a $4M club option for 2015. It’s a puzzling deal for the Jays, as McGowan hadn’t been in the majors between 2009 and 2010 due to injuries. And in 2011 he managed to throw just 21 innings.

Name an injury, and McGowan likely had to rehab from it over the past 3 years – shoulder, elbow, and other arm problems were the running theme of McGowan’s tenure as a Blue Jay. He’s managed to stay healthy so far, throwing 5 innings during Spring Training. He’s been successful, striking out 4 hitters while walking one without allowing a run. However it’s still pre-mature to suggest that McGowan is out of the woods, as Thom Tsang pointed out earlier today McGowan injured his foot while pitching in a minor league game.

It’s debateable if McGowan can make it through an entire month without having an injury, let alone an entire season. The Jays obviously wanted to protect themselves in case McGowan did have a strong year, and they feel that his stuff is back to where it should be. However, investing in McGowan is a huge risk, even for such a small amount of money. Obviously General Manager Alex Anthopoulos feels confident that McGowan will not only remain healthy, but be a positive contributor for the Jays.

The money obviously isn’t going to limit the Jays payroll going forward. For any other player this would be a sound investment, as even a poor season would be worth $1.5 million. And while there is an incredible amount of risk involved, if McGowan does rebound the Jays could come away with a steal. But the odds aren’t in their favour, and realistically McGowan will be injured for the majority of this contract.

Over his career, McGowan has gone 20-24 with a 4.80 ERA over 374 2/3 innings.