Reports put George Springer in Toronto with a six-year, $150 million deal:

The contract would be the largest given out by the Blue Jays in franchise history. Their only other contract that topped $100 million was a $126 million extension given to Vernon Wells in 2006.

ESPN.com

I suspect the Springer contract will work out much better for the Blue Jays than the Wells contract. Springer is a solid four WAR player. He’ll play 2021 as a thirty-one year old, so I expect him to produce about 19 WAR over the life of the contract. That means the Blue Jays paid about $8 million per WAR. That much more in line with the $9 to $10 million per WAR players should be receiving.

This type of veteran free agent signing represents the right type of transaction for a young team on the rise. If you look at the Blue Jays outfield numbers in 2020, there are strong offensive numbers at all three positions. A low sample size, however, covers up Randal Grichuk‘s offensive weakness. This is a move the Braves would have made in the 1990s; identify a weakness, then bring in a player that greatly improves the team at that spot. It looks like the Blue Jays are set for a very nice multi-year run at the playoffs.