The Blue Jays have reportedly signed Lyle Overbay to a 4 year, $24 million deal.
Overbay gets $3.8 million up front as a signing bonus, then a $400,000 salary for 2007, $5.8 million for 2008, and $7 million for 2009 and 2010.
Kind of a weird structure here, and not a deal that looks all that great for the Jays.
4 years, $24 million is a contract that I think is rarely going to be a good one for the team...if a player is willing to take just $6 million per season, he probably isn't good enough to warrant guaranteeing 4 years to.
Overbay is sort of a poor man's John Olerud...great defensively, hits for average, draws walks, middling power. He also, like Olerud, is very slow, and has the sort of "old player skills" that often don't age well.
Overbay, as Bill Parcells, is what he is, and what the Blue Jays can probably expect from him during this contract is similar to what he's done the past three years, be a little above average first baseman.
Overbay would have been a free agent after 2008, and personally, I think it would have made more sense to go the arbitration route the next two years and then let him walk if he thinks he could find greener pastures, but hey...no one asked me...