* CF Colby Rasmus doesn't have a multi-year deal, but he did receive a  raise from $4.675 million to $7 million on a one-year deal for 2014 avoiding salary arbitration. ....

 

By Bob Elliott

Bill Risley threw his final pitch Sept. 26, 1998 when he retired Detroit Tigers in the 13th inning.

Yet, Friday was Bill Risley day.

The Blue Jays settled with centre fielder Colby Rasmus, right-hander Esmil Rogers and lefty reliever Brett Cecil before the deadline on salary arbitration day.

Salary arbitration time is when reliever Risley, who pitched seven years, gets any mention as he’s the last player the Jays took to arbitration in 1997. Like opening day when Doug Ault gets the most mention for hitting two homers in 1977.

Rasmus will be given a one-year $7 million US deal, although talks could continue on a long-term deal. Rogers was give $1.85 million and Cecil $1.3 million.

The deadline for filing numbers -- demands by player’s agents, offers by teams -- was 1 o’clock Friday afternoon. The arbitrator picks one number or the other as the winner. He does not have the power to pick an amount in the middle or compromise.

Arbitration can be a nasty business with agents boasting, with club’s hired guns knocking a player. Covering the Montreal Expos Bill Gullickson pitched a September shutout and said “it would help in the next arbitration ... maybe.” He’d been through a rough exchange that February and knocked for not pitching enough shutouts.

Marquis Grissom showed in West Palm Beach one spring vowing not to steal bases as he’d been told stolen bases were meaningless.

And Blue Jays shortstop Tony Fernandez vowed the rath of God down on both Pat Gillick and Gord Ash one morn in the the late 1980s at Dunedin after losing a contract battle.

General manager Alex Anthopoulos will not negotiate past the deadline for filing.

Coming off a season in which Rasmus hit .276, with 22 homers, 66 RBIs and an .840 OPS in 118 games, he gets a raise from $4.675 million to $7 million.

All-Star Cecil, 5-1, 2.82 ERA with one save in 60 2/3 innings, saw his salary jump to $1.3 million from $510,000.

Rogers, made 20 starts in 44 appearances, going 5-9 record, with a 4.77 ERA in 137 2/3 innings, gets a bump from $509,000 to $1.85 million. He was going so good that a statue was erected outside Rogers Centre.

Oh no, that was Ted Rogers.