Semien officially joins Blue Jays on 1-year deal after passing physical

The Toronto Blue Jays and infielder Marcus Semien have agreed to a one-year contract worth $18 million US after passing his physical.

The 30-year-old from San Francisco had a .223 batting average with the Oakland Athletics last season.

Semien totalled nine doubles, a triple, seven home runs and 23 RBI in 53 games.

The right-handed hitter finished third in American League MVP voting in 2019 when he hit .285 with 83 extra-base hits, including 33 home runs, playing all 162 games.

Semien was a sixth-round draft pick of the White Sox in 2011 and played two seasons in Chicago before he was dealt to Oakland in 2014.

The six-foot, 195-pound infielder carries a .254 batting average through 858 regular-season games.

Ex-Jay Loup gets 1-year contract from Mets

Left-hander Aaron Loup finalized a one-year, $3-million contract with the New York Mets.

Loup can earn $250,000 in performance bonuses for games pitched: $50,000 each of 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60.

The 33-year-old was 3-2 with a 2.52 earned-run average in 25 innings over 24 games for American League champion Tampa Bay last season, allowing 17 hits while striking out 22 and walking four.

Once considered a lefty specialist, he held right-handed batters to a .192 average with three home runs in 58 plate appearances and left-handed batters to a .212 average with no home runs in 38 plate appearances. Loup did not allow a run in eight of nine post-season games.

He is 15-22 with six saves and a 3.38 ERA in nine major league seasons with Toronto (2012-18), Philadelphia (2019), San Diego (2019) and Rays (2020).