Opinion | Marcus Semien gets $175 million from the Rangers after one monster year with the Jays. Just like he wanted all along

It was one and done for the Blue Jays and infielder Marcus Semien. After betting on himself last off-season, the 31-year-old used an MVP-calibre year to cash in on a major payday.

Semien didn’t end up signing with the San Francisco Giants, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers or any of the other contenders expected to bid on him. Instead, he’s off to Texas after inking a seven-year deal worth $175 million (U.S.) with the rebuilding Rangers, pending a physical.

The Jays have now lost two key players from last year’s team that came within a win of forcing a tiebreaker for a wild-card spot. Lefty Steven Matz severed ties on Wednesday by signing with the St. Louis Cardinals. Four days later, Semien followed his lead, and it might not be long before AL Cy Young winner Robbie Ray does the same.

Semien’s departure is a major loss for the Jays, but one they had been expecting for quite some time. From the day Semien agreed to a one-year deal worth $18 million last off-season, it was evident neither party viewed this marriage of convenience as a long-term arrangement.

Anyone who expected Semien to sign for anything less than top dollar doesn’t know him very well. As a high-ranking member of the MLB Players’ Association executive committee, he takes the business side of the sport very seriously. The union encourages all its members to sign with the highest bidder because it raises the bar for players who follow. He was always going to pay it forward by falling in line.

Semien’s decision last month to hire agent Scott Boras supported that theory.

Boras isn’t the guy players hire to work out a team-friendly deal. He’s the guy they send into the war room to extract as much money and term as possible. Sunday’s deal was mission accomplished on that front, with the $175 million surpassing even the loftiest projections.

The reality for the Jays was this: If Semien didn’t accept a big discount to play for his hometown team in Oakland last winter, he was never going to take one to remain in Toronto, a city his children weren’t able to reside in last season because of the pandemic. That meant if the Jays wanted to keep him around, they had to table the top offer, and in this kind of competitive market that was never going to happen, either.

The Jays have a lot of money to spend this off-season, with approximately $117 million on the books for next year and a payroll that could approach $150 million to $160 million. However, with a young core that is getting pricier every year and long-term extensions eventually required for guys such as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette, those free-spending ways come with an expiry date.

There also are a lot of holes on the roster that need to be filled before opening day. The Jays require two starting pitchers, another arm for the bullpen, another infielder and potentially a left-handed bat to complement their outfield. Paying Semien $25 million a year within the budget set by Rogers Communications would have made those items a lot more difficult to cross off.

The reason the Jays were able to sign Semien in the first place was because he basically fell into their laps. He hit free agency last off-season after his value cratered following a disappointing abbreviated 2020 season. The Jays were one of the only teams willing to spend money at the height of the pandemic, and when their desire for a one-year deal matched up with his, a partnership was formed.

Everyone went into this situation with their eyes wide open, and considering the number of articles written this year about how Semien bet on himself and was going to be rewarded for it, the fans should have seen his departure coming too. Semien produced one of the best single seasons by an infielder in franchise history, but after just one season he didn’t owe anything to the Jays, and they didn’t owe anything to him either.

Semien did what almost any other player in his situation would have done and went to the highest bidder, which makes sense because that was the whole point of signing with the Jays in the first place.