Jose Bautista’s future with the Blue Jays has been up in the air since Spring Training, when reports of an asking price north of $150MM emerged, but the right fielder tells Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci that his preference is to remain in Toronto. “I love the city. I’d be stupid to leave,” said Bautista. While that comment will garner plenty of attention, it’s hardly uncommon for stars to voice a preference to remain with the club with which they’ve broken out. Bautista implied that the ball is in the court of first-year president of baseball operations Mark Shapiro and first-year GM Ross Atkins. “I will explore every single option, whether it happens or not with the new regime, to continue to try to stay here,” he added. “That being said, I think teams utilize that a lot against players, [seeking] a discount or bargain price, and I think that’s extremely unfair, especially to have your biggest contributors on the field and try to take advantage of the fact that they like it there and negotiate a tougher deal.” Despite today’s comments, it seems difficult to envision Bautista significantly dropping his asking price — especially when he’s again on pace to top 30 homers.
More from the AL East…
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post points out that if the Yankees want to option right-hander Michael Pineda to the minors in an effort to get the struggling 26-year-old back on track, their window to do so is closing. Pineda, Sherman notes, will reach five full years of MLB service time on June 14, at which point he will have earned the right to refuse a minor league assignment. Cashman tells Sherman that Pineda will make his next start on Thursday (in Detroit), and the club will have further discussions about him following that outing. Pitching coach Larry Rothschild cryptically tells Sherman that he’s aware of what Pineda’s problem is but is electing not to disclose the issue to the media.
- Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins spoke to reporters tonight about his club’s acquisition of Jason Grilli (video link via Sportsnet.ca). Atkins said that he’s been on the lookout for bullpen help since the day he arrived in Toronto, and Grilli’s penchant for missing bats made him an attractive option. “There’s a lot that we like about Jason and how he complements this team,” said Atkins. “The first thing that comes to mind is experience. He’s been on winning teams, [in] very high-leverage situations and gets a ton of swing-and-miss — has gotten a lot of swing-and-miss throughout his career.” Atkins expected Grilli to join the club on Wednesday.
- As Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets, Rays right-hander Brad Boxberger left tonight’s game with a strained muscle in his left side. Following the game, manager Kevin Cash told the media that the injury was “obviously not good,” and Topkin tweets that the sense in the clubhouse is that Boxberger is headed back to the disabled list. Further evaluation will be required tomorrow, he notes, but another absence for the Rays’ presumed 2016 closer appears to be a strong possibility.
Hope Grilli can turn it around, strong effort to come back.
Grilli won’t be “missing” many bats in the American league. These guys from the NL cant handle AL lineups, no DH, No Pitcher so they can’t pitch around guys.
I doubt grilling has pitched to a pitcher in the big leagues since his first couple seasons. Teams use pinch hitters and new pitchers at the end of games you know.
You have no clue what you’re talking about. Since when do managers allow pitchers to hit for themselves in a close, late inning game?
Rays are done and Boxberger would not help. His magic wore off the last half of 2015.
Bautista is attempting to repair his image with a rather predictable public relations move as his grandstanding commentary from Spring Training was not well recieved. If Bautista wants to stay in Toronto then he should prioritize working out a deal with the Jays. Implying the ‘ball is in their court,’ in reference to the Jays front office, all while condemning the tactics of hometown discounts, is hypocritical. Bautista wants his demands met without the Jays responding in kind. Business is business, all part of the game (literally and figuratively).
Bautista is a smart guy, but I highly doubt his words were encrypted to put pressure on Atkins
Bautista is not being real, he’s asking for to much money, at least he needs to shorten the years he’s asking for to have a chance of staying. As great as he is, how many more years is he going to keep doing what he does. Some of these guys want to be paid for what they have already done, doesn’t work that way.
I would let him walk. If the Jays don’t win this year then they need to start looking down the road, not giving 150 mil to an aging slugger who will, most likely, not be a productive member of their next winning team. Only 2 of his comps lasted past their 35th birthday and one of them was Jay Buhner and he was out of the league after his 36th birthday. Even granting that Bautista is pretty unique, I would not bet on him providing 150 mil worth of value over that contract.
Being paid for what the player did in the past is, actually, exactly how it works. Teams HOPE for the production to continue, but their paying for the past results.
I think Bautista has the ability to be a good major league player when he is in his late 30’s. He probably has the best eye in the league, and while his power may decrease, his on base skills will likely stay the same. He’s undoubtably not worth 150 if his power goes down, but 100 million is not a reach for him
I wonder if Pineda’s issue is lack of Pine Tar?
clever
I think that could be the problem. He really likes pine tar
Funny Stuff. It’s amazing the decline this guy is experiencing when he was with Seattle they had him targeted as the next King Felix. Instead he is more the Felix the cat.
Hasn’t that been the dampest ever squib of what seemed a blockbuster trade at the time. As an M’s fan I was gutted to see him go, but Montero was such a catch. Kind of weird how it’s ended up ‘Meh’ on both sides.
Yankees are the clear winner in this trade.
Are they really the winners if he has a negative WAR?
I think Bautista needs time on the open market. I do not think he will get the contract he is wanting.
Of course Bautista wants to stay in Toronto. Its the only fan base that isn’t tired of his bulls***.