TORONTO -- All Star reliever Paul Quantrill signed a three-year contract extension worth $9.6 million with the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday.

	Quantrill

Quantrill, Toronto's setup man, received a $1-million signing bonus and will receive $2.5 million in 2002, $3 million in 2003 and $3.1 million in 2004. He would have been eligible for free agency at the end of the season.

"He had the opportunity to be a free agent, and there were a lot of teams that were really interested in having Quantrill traded to them, but our desire was to keep him," Blue Jays president and CEO Paul Godfrey said.

Going into Thursday's game, Quantrill was 9-2 with a 2.84 ERA in 52 games, and was selected for the 2001 All-Star game in Seattle.

Quantrill said he didn't re-sign with the Blue Jays just because he's Canadian.

"It was very important just to be stable and know where I want to be." Quantrill said. "As frustrating as this year has been for us, I do believe ownership and management is headed in the right direction."

Toronto entered Thursday's game eight games below .500 (50-58), but ownership didn't unload salary at the July 31st trading deadline.

In his sixth season with the Blue Jays and 10th in the major leagues, Quantrill was acquired by the Blue Jays from the Philadelphia Phillies in December of 1995.

"He's the type of a player that want we want our entire team to be like," Toronto manager Buck Martinez said. "He's dedicated to his job. He has tremendous pride in his uniform, and he'll do anything to win a ball game, so I couldn't be more pleased today."

Quantrill is 28-34 in 358 appearances with the Blue Jays.

He has also pitched with the Boston Red Sox from 1992-94 and the Philadelphia Phillies in 1994-95.

The signing comes a day after Toronto Raptors star Vince Carter agreed to stay in Toronto.

"I figured if Toronto was good enough for Vince, it was good enough for me," Quantrill said.