TORONTO – The Toronto Blue Jays avoided arbitration with starter Shaun Marcum by agreeing to a US$850,000, one-year deal Monday.
The right-hander more than doubled his 2009 salary of $405,200 after spending the year recovering from ligament-replacement surgery at the end of the ’08 season.
He made five rehab starts in the minors, going 0-2 with a 2.30 ERA.
Marcum was 9-7 with a 3.39 ERA in 25 games before he was injured late in his breakout ’08. He’s 24-17 for his career with a 3.95 ERA in 89 games, 64 of them starts.
With Roy Halladay gone, Marcum could end up fronting the team’s rotation.
“Shaun is doing very well in his recovery and is on schedule to be ready to start the season,” GM Alex Anthopoulos said in an email.
The Blue Jays have five arbitration-eligible players remaining: closer Jason Frasor, right-handed relievers Shawn Camp, Casey Janssen and Jeremy Accardo plus left-handed swingman Brian Tallet.
The Jays haven’t taken a player to an arbitration hearing since Bill Risley in 1997.
