The Blue Jays met with longtime slugger Jose Bautista today and have resumed talks to bring him back to Toronto, broadcaster Hazel Mae tweets and FanRag’s Jon Heyman confirms (Twitter links). Heyman had previously reported that the Jays had shown little interest in reopening discussions with Bautista, so their meeting with him today appears to represent a change in direction. He adds that the Jays perked up around the time that the Indians expressed interest in Bautista, which itself seems to be a new development. (Heyman adds that the Orioles might have been another possibility, but that they preferred to keep the draft pick they would lose as a result of signing Bautista, and they apparently actually told Bautista’s representation that Orioles fans simply didn’t like him.)
The Jays have already added Kendrys Morales to their DH mix this offseason, but they could certainly still use Bautista in right field. The Indians, meanwhile, were recently in talks with another Blue Jays free agent, Edwin Encarnacion, but at last check, those talks didn’t appear to be moving forward. Bautista is coming off a modest (for him) .234/.366/.452 season, and he rejected a qualifying offer, but MLBTR still projects that his established power bat could earn him a three-year, $51MM deal this offseason.
oh god no. the indians better not sign this a hole
Agreed 100% , so many other options before coming back to this asshat.
Couldn’t agree more. Wouldn’t want this cocky jerk even if we could still count on him to mash
Can’t stand this guy. Not a fit for tribe. They seem like a pretty classy team
Agreed! Keep the worst nickname in baseball out of Cleveland!
He is a good player
Was
Wouldnt pay him more than 54 million over 3 years.
He’s only getting a 1 year deal
I wouldn’t be surprised if that is the case
Wouldn’t give him more then a two year 30mil
“and they apparently actually told Bautista’s representation that Orioles fans simply didn’t like him”
hahah oh how the mighty have fallen. would take him back as a first baseman. but that is a pretty funny thing to hear a year after he was demanding 100 mil or whatever it was
Where is that quote from? That’s hilarious if true.
Heyman tweeted it earlier today
That’s gold Jerry!!!
Agreed on bringing him in to play mostly 1st. His days as a serviceable RF ended when he hurt his shoulder and lost his once elite arm. Now, if the Jays somehow got Billy Hamilton and had him and Pillar patrolling 2/3’s of the OF? Sure, I’d put up with Jose’s terrible D in RF.
That’s really awesome if Baltimore actually said that to his agent(s). Should’ve added that that goes for most team fans out there as well.
They’d take a liking to him quick enough. Everything changes once a player is on your team; all the hard feelings get washed away pretty fast.
150 million lol
Give him a year and $15 million
seems like he’s burned bridges with just about every other team, give him an insulting offer, 1 year $8M
We could call it a “douche nozzle tax”.
I’d wait to sign him until you can get him on a one year deal and if he’s gone by then on a multi year deal it’s probally going to be better off for the team that was going to wait.
The thing is, why would any team give up a draft pick to only sign him for one year (or why would the Jays give up getting that pick to only have him back for one year)? It really only makes sense for someone to sign him that actually believes he can be useful for another 2-3 years.
Jays need to go in a different direction. They need guys who can hit on a daily basis and not swing for the fences every time
He does still draw a lot of walks. If he remains with the Jay’s it will be to play first. Pierce will be his backup and also play left field. Morales would be the everyday DH. Smoak would be out. Same scenario could work with EE imo
Jays need to turn the page. There are too many things not to like about Bautista at this point. Go pull every pitch and swing for the fences on some other team.
“Jays need to go in a different direction”.
I agree Roadapple..
By re-signing this esteemed player, I feel the team would be reverting rather going forward…. it needs to concentrate that remaining budget on the the bullpen, and a reliable, albeit backup catcher.
Outfielders Pillar, Pearce, Upton, Carrera, and possibly Pompey, with Gurriel waiting in the minors will have to carry this team forward. The immediate task ( from this rocking horse winner’s p/v ) is to find reliable bullpen arms
Uh, no. That is a team that will not contend. That team lacks offense. They need another bat, and in a big way. Jose is no longer a significant bat.
Right now this team has only 1 really good hitter in Donaldson, 2 decent hitters in their new DH and Travis.
Pillar is a poor hitter, and he’s the best OF bat they have.
Tulo’s days of being a good hitter are long gone, same with Martin. Smoak is a AA (not even a AAA) hitter, and Pearce, shrug, ok hitter, but nothing more.
That’s NOT a team that can score enough runs.
Well, apparently “The talks didn’t amount to anything”, and the Jays are now speaking with the free agent catcher, Iannetta
Tulo and Martin are still above-average hitters for their positions, while also being good defenders; there’s nothing wrong with what they bring to the team.
If this is true and the Blue Jays have indeed circled back to Bautista (and I find it hard to believe) then they must not like their chances at finding replacements in the current marketplace. They need to do something significant, there. If “Pillar, Pearce, Upton, Carrera, and possibly Pompey” are the Jays OF, then they are in trouble. That should be their #1 priority. Bullpen guys are a dime a dozen (despite the stupid money being thrown at them the last 2 years) and backup catchers are available everywhere.
That is great that they said Orioles fans don’t like him. I would personally hate to have him on the Orioles.
The Baltimore fans hate him because he owns them. I bet they hate now Encarnacion too.
You’d lose that bet. No one in Baltimore cares a lick about Encarnacion. But they truly hate Bautista and his act. His stats (.233 avg vs. Baltimore) have nothing to do with it. The only other player in MLB who comes close to that level of dislike was Big Poppy.
Would love to see Jose come back to Toronto… keeps himself in amazing shape, and despite a down and injury riddled year in 2016 I believe this guy still has a few productive years left in him. I love how a guy puts up an .820 OPS in a down year and everyone is ready to write him off… I’d gladly give him a healthy 3 year offer and let him play RF until he shows he absolutely can’t play the position anymore…then you transition him to 1b/dh. Fans slamming him quickly forget he’s been a monster for this team, still gets on base at a great clip and has plus power. One of the 5 greatest Jays of all-time. It would be a different story if this team was ready to tear it down but they are (or at least SHOULD BE) in win now mode and Jose can still play the game.
Jose has shown he absolutely can’t play full time RF anymore. These last 2 years have clearly shown that and it’s the biggest reason why the last update on Jose(before this one) mentioned he was more than willing to move to 1st or be a DH.
I’ve been hoping to see Jose end up with the Rangers, but I guess his agent should check if their fans like him at all. They might make a stink, but Jose can probably stand the Odor.
Zing!
Ugh. Please someone else take him. Toronto needs to move on from the love affair we have with Jose.
The guy can’t field a ball anymore, his mouth is a liability and has in my honest opinion proved costly on a number of occasions. Go hit 30 HR’s somewhere else. The batflip was legendary but Its time to move on. I think the offence will be alright without him, especially with the addition of Morales. Use that Jose money and grab Fowler!
I never wanted him back at his price, but knowing how pride he is, I think if he comes back now he will have one of those huge season.
The drama surrounding Jose is what entices many Toronto fans (myself included) to enjoy seeing him on our team. The last 3 years have been the best for him (even with this past season). The iconic bat flip vs Texas last year supplanted him in the level of excellence at rogers centre and I’d love to see him retire a blue jay. Very few Jays have stayed thru retirement for one reason or another. Face it, you love him or hate him. But every time he steps to the plate, everyone holds their breath and a few more seats are filled at any stadium he steps foot in. He’s an icon for all of baseball…but he belongs north of the border.
I think the easiest place he could go is back to Toronto. Most teams don’t like him.
Agree with both comments
First time I went to Vegas, I was in a store at the casino killing time before dinner. I had won 5K that day & was looking at watches. Guy put a 15K watch on my arm & I had to pretend like I was interested knowing full well I couldn’t afford it. That’s probably how the Indians GM feels.
The Blue Jays have already horribly mis-spent this offseason. What little budget the penny pinchers at Rogers have given the BJ’s needs to be spent on getting an impact bat, and Jose is no longer an impact bat.
I don’t understand how people, especially my fellow Jays fans, can be unhappy with bringing JB back, ESPECIALLY on a 2-3 year deal for lower $ than expected. How quickly we forget Bats’ 50 HR years and his epic bat flip. I love the guy and hope he’ll end up back in TO where he belongs.
One injury prone year doesn’t mean he’ll suck. Sure, he’s declining in RF but he can still play 1B instead of Smoak.
Never pay for memories.
If the rumors are true and we deal stroman for Blackmon and prospects Jose can wave bye bye to the jays we need to pull this deal