Blue Jays right fielder Jose Bautista met with multiple reporters at the Jays’ Spring Training facility in Dunedin, Fla. today, and a potential extension was among the topics discussed. However, as MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm and Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi write, Joey Bats isn’t interested in giving the Blue Jays any form of hometown discount. Bautista, who is eligible for free agency next offseason, said that he met with the Blue Jays two weeks ago and named his asking price. Toronto president of baseball operations Mark Shapiro and GM Ross Atkins sought to negotiate, but that isn’t in Bautista’s plans.
“I’m not willing to negotiate,” Bautista candidly explained. “I don’t think there should be any negotiation. I think I’ve proven myself.”
It’s hard to argue with the notion that Bautista has done anything short of that since signing his five-year, $65MM contract with the Blue Jays prior to the 2011 season. Since that time, Bautista has posted a .270/.393/.540 batting line with 173 home runs. Even when factoring in his hitter-friendly home park, Bautista’s bat has been 55 percent better than the league-average hitter, according to OPS+, and 54 percent better than average, per wRC+. Both Baseball-Reference and Fangraphs agree that he’s been worth between 26 and 27 wins above replacement in that time frame.
That production, relative to his cost, makes it relatively easy to see why Bautista would say, “In my eyes, I’ve given this organization a five-year hometown discount already.” Of course, Bautista knew the risk he was taking in signing that deal; the possibility always existed that he’d continue the torrid pace from his 2010 breakout and turn the contract into a massive bargain, just as the Blue Jays knew there was a possibility that he’d decline and leave them holding one of Major League Baseball’s least desirable contracts.
Bautista tells reporters that he met with Shapiro and Atkins for about 15 minutes. “I didn’t want to waste any time,” Bautista explained. “If this is going to happen, I think it should be natural, organic, quick and easy, it shouldn’t be a pull and tug about a few dollars here or there. I didn’t want to waste any time, I didn’t want to waste their time or their effort, so they can start planning ahead, and if it’s not going to happen they have plenty of time to do so.”
It’s unclear what Bautista specified in terms of years or dollars, although a five-year deal certainly seems like a possibility. Chisholm, in fact, tweets that Bautista was asked whether he thinks he can play for another five years, and the slugger was “emphatic” in responding in the affirmative. Earlier this offseason, MLBTR’s Mark Polishuk examined Bautista’s extension candidacy, noting that Bautista seems very likely to be able to secure at least a four-year deal at a premium rate — well north of $20MM — as a free agent next winter, assuming a typical Bautista season. I’d agree that a healthy four-year deal is a safe expectation, with a five-year deal certainly on the table should he approach last year’s production.
I have no interest in the Jays, but I love JBats game. His patience at the plate coupled with his power is something that a lot of power players don’t have. I think he’s well worth the money he’s asking for. Even if his power number decline a bit, his OBP will still be elite.
We have no idea what he’s asking for, but you’re sure he’s worth it?
Probably “market value” is his leverage. And in this case the last OF’s to get paid have been Upton and Cespedes. He’s proved that he’s better than both so it’s easy to assume he’ll probably command an annual average of around what they got, if not a little more.
He may be better than Upton and Cespedes at this point, but he’s also 5 years older than Cespedes and 7 older than Upton. Those guys are still in their prime years while history suggests Bautista should be starting to decline. Gonna be hard to find someone to shell out that kind of contract for a guy who will be in or at least pushing his 40s by the time it’s up, depending on length of the deal.
He just wil be a dh sooner. The next few years i wouldnt expect much decline. Walk rate is elite, power will be there. A decline is only being 30 percent better than average like uptons career. If you pay him knowing he will be 3 war dh for 4 years. 4/75 is fine.
lol. 4/75 is another hometown discount
I too love watching Bautista do his thing. But I also like the game. Listening to his interview, it is quite obvious that baseball has morphed into a business. Where has the game gone? Is it truly not ludicrous to pay grown men in the hundreds of millions of dollars, simply to indulge themselves in the Great American Pastime! As a baseball fan and past financial supporter of the Blue Jays – frequent ticket purchaser,: I have now been priced out of attending the game that I love. Why. I hope it is not because Jose feels he was taken advantage of by the Jays @ $65 million for the last 5 years? My heart bleeds for Jose and his agent. Did any of his non-baseball friends back home make much more than about $40K for the same period?
In other words – he has no interest in returning to Toronto unless he hits free agency and his market is dry.
Yeah this is kind of a dumb move to do this and then put it out there. Kind of daring the Jays to trade him midseason and extract value.
Him getting traded mid-season so he can’t be offered a QO certainly wouldn’t hurt anything.
I think he’s fine with returning to Toronto, he just wants to be paid market value wherever it is. This is his chance.
He can’t be traded. 10-5 rights.
Sure he can be traded, he just to approve it. If TOR is out of the race it only makes sense for him to approve any trade. It broadens his market and raises his value since he would no longer have a QO attached.
He has 5 and 10 rights so can’t be traded without his consent. As does Encarnacion.
I’m thinking he wants at least 4yrs/$25M.
Jays got a steal of a life time with his last contract! They should do a new deal now a 4 year 25 million a year with option 5th year.
Skip.. You are right on 4/100, plus option. (Negotiate the 5th year, buyout.. $, etc.
Bautista has no reason to negotiate. 2016 free agent class is very weak and he will be at the top. He bet on himself before and Toronto cashed in on his deal. His resume is strong (performance is great… And his clubhouse is a plus.
Free agency is always about paying for past performance and hoping your can get your value through the length of a long term deal. His bat will easily play through 4 years .. If you eat year 5, you did lots better than most..
They did get a steal, but let’s not ignore they were the team that gave him the chance and helped him refine his hitting approach, and with one big year under his belt after years of mediocrity, they gave him a deal that many questioned. He went along with it because he was also trying to cash in. There was no home-town discount when the deal was signed. The Jays are the ones who took the risk, not Bautista.
A player this age is always taking a risk if the offer is within 15% or so of what he thinks he can get. That being said, we have no idea what the offer was, so no way to gauge reasonableness
Bautista probably came in, wrote his price down on a sheet of paper and handed it to Shapiro and Atkins before doing an over the top flip of his pen before walking out.
Considering his recent behavior against the O’s he quite possibly threw the pen at them! Oh wait – he was the one that was thrown at because he’s arrogant. Maybe they threw a pen at him!
Haha yes!
Lol @ 5 years. No way Shapiro considers that. I could see them doing 4 years at a reasonable value or 3 years with a higher annual value but no way a 100 million dollar contract to Bats at this stage. Guess he will be a Dodger next season
Toronto will likely call his bluff, extend him a QO and let him hit the open market where he will have to negotiate with some teams. No one signs anyone at their asking price.
I wonder if this “no negotiation” rule extends to all teams or just the Blue Jays…
It’s going to be more of an auction than a negotiation.
Next year is a very weak year for free agents. Bautista is smart to bet on his own performance (building on his 5 year resume), and see what fair market value offers him (it will be BIG). No need (unless he and his family are in love with Toronto) to give discounts now..
He kinda put the Jays in a predicament….1) pay his asking price…2) trade him at TDL IF not in contention to a contender for the biggest package they can get…3) Hold on to him and extend QO….
Personally I think the Jays will be close enough to playoff contention that they will have a HUGE TDL decision to make…
J-Bats should agree to a trade at the TDL to get the QO possibility removed….that is unless he feels the Jays are legit WS (not just playoff) contenders…
Problem is (for him) if the Blue Jays are in contention for even a wild card spot, they are not going to trade him.
Trade him
Wow. Very poorly played by Bautista and his representation. The last thing in the world you want to Toronto fan base or other excutives in baseball to think is that you were unwilling to negotiate. Of course, you can be unwilling to negotiate, but it’s the club’s word against yours, and the club has an interest of course in getting you to sign a team friendly contract, so the fans and others are going to assume the club is blowing smoke when they say you were unwilling to negotiate.
For how to play this, Bautista should talk to Pablo Sandoval. Up until the very last second Giants fans thought the Giants were acting in bad faith. Only when they found out how much money Sandoval was asking did they realize he’d been maxing his dollars the whole time. Of course, someone might notice how well that Sandoval contract turned out.
At first I agreed with you but the more I think about it, the more I think Bautista made the right decision to speak out. If he isn’t traded, he has a QO attached to his name which will hamper his market severely. Most small market teams won’t want to take the 4 year gamble on his power/leadership.
He also did the Jays a favor. By making it clear that he wants to be paid, the Jays won’t risk letting him walk for nothing. Bautista now vs the draft pick value, it’s pretty clear Bautista has more value. Trading him to a team in need of a power hitter NOW could net top prospects (plural) vs just one unproven, unscouted, draft pick.
Speaking out made sense for both the player and the team. If they can’t sign him and they aren’t in contention, they will trade him.
How well it turned out for who? Boston or Sandoval?
I didn’t know his hometown was Toronto. i checked and his bio says santo domingo.
lol
His arrogance comes out again! This player, while athletically and performance strong, should be used as an example to young players on how not to act! Classless act! To me baseball is far more then just about on field performance. If their behavior and attitudes aren’t in check then they should be treated as a child – Jbats is worthless in terms of sportsmanship!
Haha 247 think again! You don’t know what he ask for? He has a right to a point what he’s asking for! Jays got a DEAL OF A LIFE TIME ON HIS LAST DEAL! I see what your saying if he’s a young punk that hasn’t earned it yet!
All true… He’s worth a huge pay day in terms of baseball performance. If I were an owner is think long and hard though because of his crappy sportsmanship! Even if he’s earned it in terms of play. There are other players that perform just as well that have a much better record of sportsmanship!
Idk about huge as 125 million but a very good pay day Ya! that’s y I say tear up his contract now give him 4 years 25 million a year with option and buy out. I think that’s really fair for both sides! Because I do not see him getting a 5 year deal after this year.
Its a good thing youre not an owner. Theres a difference between being arrogant and wearing youre heart on your sleeve. I think its pretty crappy sportsmansip when every time Darren O’day pitches against him he throws within a couple inches of him. And then when he hits a homer off him what you think he should put his head down like nothing happened. No, emotions are a part of the game. Read his article in the players tribune to see the real Jose Bautista, maybe that will shut up the haters
The Jays took a huge risk last time. Let’s not forget that. Sure, it turned out well for them, but Joey still got his security. He evidently thought it was risky to bet on himself then, so it obviously wasn’t an overpay when he signed this current deal. If he thought he was under selling himself, then he wouldn’t have signed it.
And the last time I checked could be wrong but don’t think so havent heard a thing he’s a problem on or off the field!
I hope they let him go. With his age, a long term investment would be pointless at this point. Let him walk with the QO.
No reason for the Jays to play stupid here. If he says nothing to negotiate fine. The Jays present him with their best offer and it is up to Joey. Then we all wait . Jays can not sign EE and Joey as well so Joey may have made their life easier. My guess is he is asking for 30 million a year which by the way is over 40 million in Canadian dollars. Most of Blue Jay revenue is in Canadian dollars.
I love it. No BS – I saved you a bunch of cash with my current contract – now it’s my turn. He was smart doing this now. The word that Shapiro being a cheapskate must be getting around. He’ll spend more money on SABR technicians than players.
As a Jays fan, I’m tend to side with Bautista here. Blue Jays ownership & management are cheap. They nearly went to arbitration with Donaldson over $450,000. Bautista gave them a discount last time and stayed with the Jays when things weren’t going well. This is his last chance to get paid. I don’t blame for wanting market value. Rogers is willing to spend $5.2 billion for the TV rights to Hockey Night in Canada, but aren’t willing to spend $8 million a season for a reliever or $13 million for another starter to help the team out. If Rogers consistently put money into the team, they would get crowds like the team at the end of last season. Fans can tell when ownership doesn’t care. I’m not saying that they should go crazy & spend money for the sake of spending money. However, ownership should be willing to pay to add that one pitcher to make the team better or to sign the guy (Bautista) stuck with you through some down times.
He didn’t give them a discount last time. He was a 30-year-old journeyman player who was coming off a UFO season. The Jays took a $78MM risk. He was doing cartwheels. He locked up big money, which will now enable him to risk the 2016 season to get a bigger contract. I say risk because if he does show some decline in 2016, then hitting the free agent market as a 36-year-old OF/DH who appears to be entering decline will substantially reduce his take.
Actually, it was more like the Jays stuck with Joey. Look at his career prior to Toronto. He played for everyone, but kept getting let go, because he didn’t produce. No one else ever offered him a multi year contract. Most teams probably thought his one surprise year was enhanced. Who knew if he would repeat it, or if other teams would have gambled on him.
He’ll mash for Boston at 4/$130M.
No he won’t. He wants 5/150
He didn’t give them a discount – he took a deal that gave him security and ended up outperforming it. Good for him and ended up good for the team. He comes across as a complete jerk with this stance. I hope they make the QO and then let him go.
The team definitely doesn’t want to go the QO route unless it has to. QO is the worst case scenario because it produces the least amount of known value.
Ideal scenario is they lock him up on a deal that benefits BOTH team and player.
Alternative scenario – they trade him midseason for top prospects.
Worst case scenario – they QO him at the end of the year and get the draft pick from another team.
Yup, I’m pretty sure once you indicate you’re open to a new contract and you name a price, you’ve begun negotiations. I guess Bautista is not familiar with the process.
The Jays got a very good deal signing him in 2011 for 65 mill. That’s ridiculously low. but sounds like bautista wants something more than a bargain and wants to get payed his market value or sounds like even maybe a bit over payed. seeing that he’s Jose Bautista pay him what he wants cuz he has more of a complete player than EE. Bautista hits for power and average wrre and EE can only hit for(mostly power) bautista is also more of an defensive asset. I think for five years he could be asking for any were between 80 100 mill
Pillar I’m sure he’s asking more than 80-100 million. If you include this year and do a 4 or 5 year deal in that range I think that’s a good deal for both sides but I’m sure He’s asking for more.