After another solid outing on Saturday where Ted Lilly last 6 innings and only giving up 1 run, he improved his record to 14-12. Lilly has already reached his career high in wins. It's not that surprising though, it's a contract year and it looks like he'll be cashing in. Richard Griffin, a writer for the Toronto Star, suggests that Lilly will likely receive a 3 or 4 year contract worth between 7 and 9 million dollars.

Is he worth that much to the Jays? Do they even want to bring him back? It's hard to say for both questions. He might have priced himself out of the Jays budget and after his confrontation with manager John Gibbons, they may decide to let him walk. J.P. and Gibbons have both said they would like to have Lilly back. He owns a 58-57 record with a 4.62 career ERA. There are really only 2 or 3 free agent pitchers this year that would rank ahead of Lilly, all of which are lefties, Mark Buehrle, Barry Zito and Mark Mulder (who is on the 60-day DL). Buehrle and Zito will receive top dollar, over $10 per and will be chased by numerous teams. Lilly will also receive lots of interest.

I personally don't think he'll back, although I wouldn't mind seeing him as the 4th starter. If they chose not to sign him, the Jays will need to add 2 quality starters if they plan on competing next year. Finding 2 quality starters that fit into the budget will be hard to do through the free agent market.