Blue Jays pick up Justin Smoak’s option, decline Yangervis Solarte’s

Happy Halloween to all who are celebrating today. I am wearing a leopard onesie and it’s the first day I haven’t been freezing cold in this office.

The Blue Jays have made official decisions on two player options:

Justin Smoak’s $8m option was mentioned as likely to be picked up yesterday, and it was the obvious choice for the team. Smoak didn’t put up the All Star calibre year he had in 2017, but he was still very valuable to the Jays. He finished out 2018 with a .807 OPS and a 121 wRC+. He also received another gold glove nomination for his defense.

It was also widely speculated that the Blue Jays wouldn’t pick up Yangervis Solarte’s $5.5m option. The Blue Jays now have until Nov 30th to decide whether to tender him a contract, trade him, or release him. As you know, Solarte had a fantastic start, putting up a 138 wRC+ up to the Cleveland double header, then a 52 wRC+ since. He is also terrible on the base paths, and doesn’t offer anything defensively.

There’s also this: