Toronto Blue Jays has no deal with Michael Brantley, the source says

While the Toronto Blue Jays remain one of the teams interested in free-agent outfielder Michael Brantley, they have not agreed on a contract, a source familiar with the situation told ESPN.

Previously, ESPN had reported that the Blue Jays and Brantley had struck a deal for him to join former Houston Astros teammate George Springer, who agreed to a $ 150 million six-year contract with Toronto on Tuesday, sources confirmed.

The demand for Brantley, 33, remains strong due to its high contact rate, low strikeout ratio and polish on the plate. In 46 games with the Astros in 2020, alternating between leftfield and DH, Brantley batted. 300, with five homers, 22 RBIs, and an OPS of 0.840.

He has hit at least .300 in five seasons since 2014, keeping most such seasons in baseball on par with four others during that period. He has also batted in just 10.1% of his at bats since 2014, the third best in baseball in that period, with a minimum of 2,000 at bats.

Injuries have plagued Brantley during his 12-year career with the Cleveland Indians and Astros, in which Brantley averages .297, with 114 homers, 640 RBI’s and a .794 OPS. He has been an All-Star four times, finishing third in the MVP voting in 2014.

Brantley was on a two-year $ 32 million deal that he signed for the 2019 season.

ESPN Stats & Information contributed to this report.