Blue Jays exercise $3M US option on reliever Jason Grilli

Relief pitcher Jason Grilli had his US$3 million team option for the 2017 season picked up by the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday morning.

The 39-year-old Grilli was traded to Toronto on May 31 from the Atlanta Braves.

He pitched 42 innings for the Blue Jays, striking out 58 with a 3.64 earned-run average, serving as a capable setup man for closer Roberto Osuna and earning two saves himself.

Grilli threw a total of 59 innings in 2016, with 81 strikeouts and a 4.12 ERA.

General manager Ross Atkins had described exercising Grilli's option "as near to a no-brainer to pick up as you can get" during the team's end-of-season press conference last month.