9:49am: Edwin Encarnacion, too, is rejecting his QO, tweets SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo. That was among the most obvious calls in the entire class (or in any class of QO players). On the heels of a .263/.357/.529 batting line and 42 homers — his fifth straight season with at least 34 round-trippers — Encarnacion figures to cash on a substantial four-year pact and has a chance at a five-year deal worth in excess of $100MM. If both Encarnacion and Bautista sign elsewhere, the Jays will net a pair of compensatory picks in next year’s draft.
8:46am: Blue Jays right fielder/DH Jose Bautista will decline Toronto’s one-year, $17.2MM qualifying offer before today’s 5pm ET deadline, tweets Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports. That decision has long been viewed as likely even on the heels of a disappointing and injury-filled season for the 36-year-old slugger. In light of Bautista’s decision, the Jays will receive a compensatory draft pick at the end of the first round if he signs elsewhere.
Bautista spent roughly six weeks of the 2016 season on the disabled list due to a toe injury and a knee sprain. When healthy, the two-time MLB home run leader (2010, 2011) batted just .234, though his .366 on-base percentage, .452 slugging percentage and .217 isolated power mark were all considerably above the league average. Bautista walked at nearly a 17 percent clip and struck out in just a shade under 20 percent of his plate appearances, and he finished the year on the upswing, hitting .262/.401/.469 in 162 plate appearances after being activated from his second stint on the DL.
The most significant questions surrounding Bautista are his age and his defense in right field. Having just turned 36 in October, a significant multi-year deal would carry him into at least his age-38 season. While that’s certainly not unheard of — Carlos Beltran, for instance, just played out a three-year, $45MM deal that spanned his age-37 through age-39 seasons — there will certainly be teams that are wary about committing to such pacts for a player that’s closer to 40 than to 30. Beyond that, his defense has rated out quite poorly in each of the past two seasons; Ultimate Zone Rating pegs him at 15.5 runs below average over his past 1825 innings in right field, while Defensive Runs Saved has him at -11 in that same time frame.
Those factors will likely scare away numerous National League clubs, although since formally receiving the qualifying offer, Bautista has already drawn some level of interest from the Mets. He’s also been loosely linked to both the Red Sox and Yankees, and it stands to reason that other American League teams will at least kick the tires on Bautista, who has hit more home runs than anyone in baseball dating back to the 2010 season. The Blue Jays may yet express interest in retaining Bautista, although their three-year deal with Kendrys Morales, signed last Friday, certainly makes him a bit of a tougher fit on Toronto’s roster.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
If he was 30 and coming off the same season he is now he definitely should have accepted but when your 36 you have to go for the deal with the most security(3 or 4 years), idk if that’s what he’s looking for but that’s what I’m guessing.
and money. he is probably looking for at least 20 million per season. I think someone, maybe the Mets, give him 3/60
And where would he play for the Mets? They must have 6 or 7 OFers
Granderson, Bruce, Conforto, Lagares, Nimmo, Kelly. Missing anyone else?
Mets need a CF like Dexter Fowler
Lagares is a good CFer. Bautista is certainly not the answer if they have a CF problem.
Granderson can play center, Duda goes to left, Bruce stays in right, and Bautista plays 1st. I think he’ll play anywhere as long as he gets his money.
But more realistically, I think Bruce gets traded and Bautista takes over. There has been talks of a trade throughout the day. Sounds like he might end up on the Blue Jays, somewhat ironically.
If the Mets were to give him a 3/60 contract (and I’m not saying that they or someone else won’t) almost assuredly they will end up regretting it if Bautista is forced to play the outfield over the course of the contract. I’ve seen several articles speculating all sorts of different landing spots (many that made absolutely no sense unless the supposed acquiring team made other unexpected moves just to accommodate him) for Bautista, but I still contend that it is likely his market is not going to be what he expected and he will be one of the later ‘big bat/dh types” available. His poor defense and the draft pick attached to him will limit his options.
Money was supposed to be implied but my bad.
“The Blue Jays may yet express interest in retaining Bautista, although their three-year deal with Kendrys Morales, signed last Friday, certainly makes him a bit of a tougher fit on Toronto’s roster.”
I disagree with this. Morales can play 1B/DH and Bautista can play RF/DH. They also have Smoak (and Goins) at 1B as well as Carrera/Upton to play RF (and LF). The Blue Jays can easily put both Morales and Bautista in the same lineup every game (even though whoever is in the field will be subpar there, their bat will be worth it)
I don’t think the Morales signing makes Bautista a tougher fit on the Jays roster at all. If it makes anyone a tougher fit, it’s EE, who can only do 1B/DH.
I think the Morales signing makes both of them a tougher fit. Bautista clearly could benefit from some time at DH and is a liability in right field. It doesn’t make it impossible, and I agree that it impacts their ability to sign Encarnacion more than their ability to re-sign Bautista, but Morales’ presence cuts into one easy avenue to at-bats for Bautista.
Or they can actually sign both of Edwin and Joey and alternate the DH/1B between all 3 !!!
Edwin 1B, Joey RF, Morales DH
Edwin DH, Morales 1B, Joey RF
Edwin 1B, Joey DH, Morales pinch hits. Carrera in RF !
This may seem far fetched, but if the Jays could make a trade to send newly signed Morales to the Reds and have them pay a portion of his 173M owed, Joey Votto would be a perfect replacement for both Edwin and Bautista. Adding in that Edwin also resigns, you have two guys to split time between 1B and DH with Smoak as a backup for either in the event injuries occur or one needs an off day.
This made my head hurt.
according to the official major league rules Morales isn’t eligible to be traded right away since he just signed a contract as a free agent:
5. An Article XX-B MLB free-agent who signs a Major League contract after 11:59 PM (Eastern) on the 5th day after the final game of the World Series has an automatic “no trade” right through June 15th. The player can waive this right, but if he does he can be traded only for cash and/or player contracts with a maximum aggregate value of $50,000. Note that an Article XX-B MLB free-agent who signs a minor league contract after 11:59 PM (Eastern) on the 5th day after the final game of the World Series does NOT receive an automatic “no trade” right, even if the player is later added to the club’s MLB Reserve List (40-man roster).
Morales can’t be traded until June 15 of next year without his consent.
Joey Votto has a full no-trade clause and has said on multiple occasions that he has no desire to leave Cincinnati, even amidst a rebuild.
Nice idea, but they definitely won’t pay both EE and Votto.
That is not only far-fetched, it’s not happening.
Morales can’t be traded until about halfway through the season. This isn’t the NBA; there’s no sign-and-trade ability.
Everyone saying Morales can play first is nuts. If he does its no more than 15 games so that rules out trading him to any NL team. If I’m the Jays I still am focused on Edwin. He proved he can play 1b although in a limited role last year. Bautista proved after returning his days in the OF are numbered if not over. he could move to 1B perhaps but for the difference in cost I’d be more inclined to go for the younger guy who you know can play 1b better. The Jays would be better served trading from their SP depth and getting an OF or RP than to bring back Jose.
Bautista as a 1B/DH? I’m sure he could be a serviceable 1B. Bautista had an incredible run in Toronto, but I feel his time is up. He may still have 1 or 2 good years left, but the Jays cannot afford to be stuck with a contract that hampers future signings. EE is the one they should target, but a 5 year for him could hurt too.
People…when are you going to get it…Votto isn’t going anywhere. Yes I know he’s from Canada. A much better tax situation in the USA than Canada, plus he’s almost guaranteed to not have to play past the end of September for the foreseeable future in Cincinnati.
And that’s a good thing. Most players want to win a championship and if they don’t they should retire.
Most players as kids grow up dreaming to play in the major leagues. Winning championships is nice, but it’s not the only motivation to keep playing and it’s not something individual players control all that much. Playing big league ball and getting paid handsomely to do so with all the perks that come with it is plenty of motivation to keep playing. One team out of 30 wins a championship every year.
No, I’m not saying it’s a good thing. That’s just my personal impression of Votto. If it were different, he’s had opportunities to go where he could play into October by dropping his “no trade” and reworking his contract. He’d still get his money and possibly a ring. He’s a great player and I’m not a Cincinnati fan.
Blue Jays fans be like bigmommamemes.com/u039/cc5a8970-36d2-442d-9cbb-cc8…
Lol
If Bautista’s market is soft I could see the Nationals swooping in, as questionable of a fit as it seems. The reasoning:
If he is getting offers like 2/$35m or 3/$50m (which frankly seem generous considering his age, down year, draft pick conpensation, and cheaper alternatives available), I could see a Nationals-style, heavily-deferred deal for like 4/$80m looking good to him, if mostly for appearances sake since it would work out to more like $50-60m value with the deferrals factored in. Like that he would rather chase the top face value so that he looks like less of an idiot for turning down $100m or whatever the Blue Jays offered him last year. Of course it would also be a chance to contend, be part of a big-time line up, not be relegated to DH.
And it fits for the Nationals in that they like to make big, flashy moves that they can’t really afford, pushing the costs to the future via deferrals. Jettisoning Gio and Revere wouls help pay for it, then Werth is gone in a year (or two?) so they wouldn’t be stuck with two old outfielders for too long.
If he’s getting offers of 2/35 or 3/50, I don’t know why they would feel compelled to swoop in with 4/80, deferrals or not. Seems like serious overkill. Give him 3/60 and call it a day.
Now here’s a good opportunity for Toronto to restock the farm
Im a jays fan. Most of us wanted ee back but not bautista. At beginning of season we could of had edwin for abour 3yr/60 but they ignored him and he had another good season and his stock went up. Fail by jays. I dont know why we dont try fowler because we need a leadoff batter like him. Our strictly power lineup has not worked. Rumour we are trying for reddick which would be nice. We need some speed and guys that are contact hitters. Too many strikeouts on our team. Votto would be perfect but dont think that will happen.
Unfortunately, Jays management didn’t really know Edwin yet and what kind of person and player he was, they just knew the stats. No doubt they regret not having made a better offer and getting him extended when they had the chance.
It’s mind boggling that the Mets even bothered; I’m sure it is them just kicking the tires like they do most other FA before they claim that they, “want to go in a different direction” (i.e. look at cheaper options). Alderson is already on record saying Conforto is getting regular playing time next year, so that leaves Lagares/Granderson/Bruce….and the Met’s top priority of Ces to fight over 2 spots (with random games mixed in).
I can see the Mets moving Bruce (I believe TOR has been mentioned), though I just can’t see them making room for a guy who doesn’t fit in the field for them AND paying $15-$20m/yr for that honor. They would need to move Granderson too, and while he is expensive at $15m (albeit he has earned his contract up to this point), he is a great clubhouse guy and not someone they should be quick to jettison.
Bautista to WAS…that would suck (as a Met fan). He can still rake and I can see WAS floating a last ditch offer to him w. deferred compensation as the prior poster mentioned. I think someone will bite @ 3yr, so he’ll find a place to land in the AL.