Will St. Louis Cardinal Jon Jay See The Money?

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Of course, Jon Jay is going to see the money! The question really is just how much. 

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Jon Jay and the St. Louis Cardinals exchanged figured Friday. In his second year of arbitration eligibility, Jay filed for $5 million. The Cardinals put their figure at $4.1 million for the outfielder, who arguably improved his stock with an amazing 2014 summer.

So, it’s safe to say that the two sides will land somewhere in the middle and come to a nice agreement before they have to go before an arbitration panel.

With the exception of moments during the 2013 season, Jay has been worth everything the Cardinals have paid him … and even a little more. Even after that bad season, the Cardinals rewarded Jay with a $3.25 million contract in which he rewarded the team by winning back his spot as the team’s center fielder – a position they are still willing to put up for grabs with Peter Bourjos. Because competition is a pretty good thing, ya know!

And if we’re going by sabermetrics, Jay definitely deserves a big raise. Jay improved from 1.4 to 2.8. Boom. That’s what you call awesome.

Just think of all the amazing plays Jon Jay has made in center field. Here’s a refresher for you from a game in Cincinnati in September:

Yes.

Plus, Jay is coming off a procedure in October in which he had his wrist scoped after experiencing some discomfort through the second half of last season. Drew Silva of Hardball Talk noted that even with the discomfort Jay “still managed to bat .303 with a .372 on-base percentage in 468 plate appearances last season, and he then went 14-for-29 (.483) in the playoffs.”

That’s just awesome and probably the most unexpected of all the offseason medical procedures … but not so much when you watch the catch above. But, it has been reported that Jay was cleared this week to begin workouts and is on tap to be ready for Spring Training next month!

Can you say Yay Jon Jay?