Oliver Wants a Raise to Return to Toronto

[phillipmike]

UPDATE:

Mike Cormack ‏@MikeCormack
#bluejays also announce... Darren Oliver will return to team in 2013 after his $3 million option was exercised. Assume no raise.

Mike Wilner ‏@Wilnerness590
Darren Oliver will be available to the media on a conference call tonight at 6pm EAST. I'll tweet the highlights for you! #Bluejays #Jays

AA did the right thing sticking to his guns. Oliver and Frye was bluffing and AA called them out.

Left-hander Darren Oliver has been contemplating retirement for most of the winter, but his decision is more complicated than it might appear. The 42-year-old wants to play, but is not willing to return to the Blue Jays unless they increase his salary from $3MM, major league sources tell Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.

Oliver would welcome a trade back to the Rangers as his family lives in the Dallas area, according to sources. The veteran is coming off of the best season of his long career and does not want to take a pay cut in the follow-up campaign. However, the Blue Jays are over budget and are unwilling to give him a pay bump. A source says that Toronto has stretched their budget so far that they might have to cut in other areas just to pay Oliver his original $3MM salary.

Oliver signed a one-year, $4MM deal with the Blue Jays last January with a $3MM option for 2013 that could have been bought out for $500K. Sources tell Rosenthal that Oliver signed the deal knowing that he would likely call it career after 2012. A trade to the Rangers could satisfy all parties involved, however, as Oliver would be more flexible in his financial demands if he is closer to home.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2013/0...#disqus_thread

Not sure i like this; he should honor his contract.

However, if its a little amount and AA is cool with it then i am fine with it too. If not then we trade him.

[nirvana235]

Let him retire, if Bautista and Dickey are willing to play with below market contracts, then this guy certainly can.

[phillipmike]

My bad didnt know it was already posted in the off-season thread.

[Big Hurt]

Maybe an extension would work for both parties.
Add a year @ $3 million with a $500,00 buyout

[Dol-Fan]

I'll say what I said in the offseason thread...Oliver is a huge piece to the BP and it would be huge to have him back, but these club options are a huge part of what AA does. If you set a precedent for handing out raises when a player doesn't want to come back at the club option price, it will have a massive impact on future dealings. I don't think you can cede to the old man here.

[Billyen]

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2013/0...#disqus_thread

Not sure i like this; he should honor his contract.

However, if its a little amount and AA is cool with it then i am fine with it too. If not then we trade him.

What a piece of ****. It's a contract for a reason.

Reminds me of Stieb.

[Billyen]

I'll say what I said in the offseason thread...Oliver is a huge piece to the BP and it would be huge to have him back, but these club options are a huge part of what AA does. If you set a precedent for handing out raises when a player doesn't want to come back at the club option price, it will have a massive impact on future dealings. I don't think you can cede to the old man here.

This x2

[bomber0104]

He should go **** himself then

Don't grant him a release. Let him retire and go sign JP Howell for that 3 million

[jaysforever]

Stick a fork in him. How can he be whining about a raise when he's got a chance to get back to the playoffs after all of AA's offseason moves? Nothing wrong with $3mm here.

[kanersen]

It's a dirty move. He asked for a front-loaded contract and wants to get more out of it now that it is well below market value. I'm sure the contract that Affeldt signed didn't help the situation.

AA's not going to give in, it would set a dangerous precedent with all the club options he likes to do with players. I doubt he simply gives him to Texas for a token prospect either or shouldn't anyway.

1.Retire
2.Play
3.Get traded for a reasonable return

I'm fine with any of the above

[R. Johnson#3]

Lost a fair amount of respect for him after reading this.

[Billyen]

His timing is interesting also....why does he suddenly want more money now? Why not say this after AA exerised his option?

JUst greedy and really poor form.

[TRIUMPHATOR]

I'll say what I said in the offseason thread...Oliver is a huge piece to the BP and it would be huge to have him back, but these club options are a huge part of what AA does. If you set a precedent for handing out raises when a player doesn't want to come back at the club option price, it will have a massive impact on future dealings. I don't think you can cede to the old man here.

Couldn't agree more. Can't set a precedent here, especially with a player of Olivers caliber (good but not great).

Let him retire and let him feel as stupid as Farrell does now.

[BJBirdy]

I honestly hope Oliver doesn't retire. I don't agree with him waiting until now to demand a raise, but he's far better than Brett Cecil or whoever we would get to replace him as a lefty out of the bullpen.

[mtf]

The Blue Jays can't let this become another John Farrell situation, simply going along with the whims of an employee. This is already a bad precedent and they need to reverse the way they handle these situations right away.

They have the rights to Darren Oliver. If he doesn't want $3,000,000 for one year to play on a team built to be a championship contender, then let him retire.