Veteran slugger Jose Bautista is willing to take a one-year contract, according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports. There’s something of a catch, though: per the report, “he wants it to be at a higher value than the qualifying offer.”
It seems, then, that Bautista would need to see something greater than $17.2MM on an offer sheet for the 2017 season before he’s willing to give up his pursuit of a lengthier pact — at least at this stage. Notably, the report does not suggest that the organization has shown any movement on its part; at last check, Toronto had yet to indicate a willingness to exceed the value of the QO that it previously extended, and Bautista declined. As Passan puts it, “the next move is the Blue Jays’.”
Passan explores in great detail why a reunion with Toronto makes sense, particularly in a single-season scenario; you’ll want to give his breakdown a full read for that reasoning. Indeed, with former teammate Edwin Encarnacion now off the market, the path is perhaps cleared for Bautista (and other defensively limited power bats) to find their own landing spots. And the Jays’ lineup surely is still in need of some pop, especially in the outfield, as the team’s current depth chart shows. Bautista wants to return to the place where he finally found his stride as a ballplayer, too, a source informs Passan.
It’ll be interesting to see whether this new bargaining position for Bautista changes the calculus for Toronto (or other organizations). Much of the risk in his profile lies in his age (36); though he took a step back in the power department last year, he also dealt with some injuries and still maintained his top-of-class plate discipline. All told, Bautista still generated a strong .234/.366/.452 batting line with 22 home runs in 517 plate appearances. In that regard, the demand for a salary in excess of the QO does not seem startling; coming into the winter, after all, expectations were that he could find a multi-year contract with an AAV in that ballpark.
Other market markers seem relevant here, too. Carlos Beltran landed $16MM from the Astros on a one-year term, while Matt Holliday got $13MM from the Yankees. It’s certainly arguable that Bautista is a bigger prize than either of those players, though neither required draft compensation. (For Toronto, the club wouldn’t punt one of its existing picks, but re-signing Bautista would mean surrendering its rights to a compensatory choice.)
At the same time, teams eyeing power bats no longer have quite as many names to choose from, particularly if they prefer an outfield-capable player. The younger but less-accomplished Mark Trumbo is perhaps the biggest remaining competition on the free-agent market, which still includes other options such as Mike Napoli (who is limited to first base) and Brandon Moss (who hits from the left side). On the trade side of the equation, J.D. Martinez can presumably still be had, though we haven’t heard much indication that anything will come together on the Tigers star. There are a variety of other free-agent outfielders, including recent Toronto teammate Michael Saunders, though none feature anything approaching Bautista’s offensive track record.
From the demand side, plenty of hypothetical suitors remain for Bautista and his market competition. We ticked through some of them recently in this post. As the recent bidding for Encarnacion shows, there could still be an appetite on the market for multi-year pacts with significant value, as well as creative, shorter-term deals at high average annual values. But just how much demand exists for the older Bautista — whose platform season wasn’t as promising as that of his long-time teammate — remains unclear.
In prior years, we’ve seen players settle for one-year deals after turning down qualifying offers, though in most instances they took less than the value of the offer itself. (This was the case for players such as Ian Desmond, Dexter Fowler, Kendrys Morales, and Stephen Drew.) Ervin Santana agreed to a $14.1MM deal with the Braves in advance of the 2014 season, matching that year’s QO value, though he had to wait for spring injuries to land that contract. Only Hiroki Kuroda was able to beat the qualifying offer on a single-season pact; in November of 2012, he inked a $15MM contract after turning down what was then a $13.3MM QO. Unlike those situations, however, the new rule preventing multiple qualifying offers from being extended to a single player would prevent the Blue Jays or another team from lining up possible draft compensation after the 2017 campaign.
Its really not worth it unless it’s the Blue Jays or a team thats already punted their 1st rounder, or a team just so locked on winning, they dont care anymore
Jays, Indians, Giants?
Giants are done spending big
so are the indians i would think
Or a bottom 10 team with a protected 1st round pick…
Rockies to play 1B
Keep dreaming, Joey. You’re about 5 years late.
you are right about that
Spot on! What little baby Joey wants, little baby Joey doesn’t always get.
Yep next he will be willing to sign for 1/2 a year but at an even greater inflated price
After missing out on Edwin I think the As get him and then flip him at the deadline for a couple good prospects
They wouldn’t get a couple good prospects for him at 36 they might get 2 mid-level
If he has a good season they will
No they wouldn’t. They would be lucky to get something similar to what the Yankees got for Beltran. The only decent prospect they got was Dillon Tate who doesn’t look great anyway
No they will not
*yawns*
Athletics or Rays are probably the best fit.
from a dollar standpoint yes but if your batista going to Oakland will crush any value you may have after 2017. he can’t play of in that park and his power numbers will decrease.
Eh, I think Bautista on a 1 yr/$20M deal for the A’s is a nice substitute for whiffing on EE
Both of those teams wouldn’t combine each other’s money and pay for him even if they were allowed to share him. Don’t be silly
The As were the runner ups for Edwin?
Says who?
I missed the part where they received an award for their failed signing of EE
Your condescending nature aside, being runner up for EE shows that they could spend that kind of money, more notably on a one year deal. Both teams are consistently slept on and we forget that because they are smaller budget teams that they still have money, they just aren’t going to go out and sign Trout for 10/400 is all. Both teams are pitching oriented, therefore a theoretical 35 homer year from JB could make a world of difference. And if they fall out of contention very early, they could just as easily trade him at the deadline if he’s performing at his normal level of production. Adding JB to a lineup of Longoria, Forsythe, and Brad Miller could pay high dividends to the team. Plus, I think JB thrives off being the focal point of an offense and this would be exactly the scenario to allow that.
Yankees fan here, no thanks.
Another article about Joe Bautista:(.
The Jays have need of several powerful bullpen arms, at least three; also the team needs a backup catcher, also, it has a prospect-depleted minor league system, and have to place players and huge amounts of monies into those slots.
The Jays outfield is being undervalued by the writers of the multifarious articles ( and is probably putting – and other p words – those Jays players off ) as they for an unknown reason wanted EE back in To, and are still pressing the administration to throw all that good money into a slot which the team does not have the need to fill.
Why does this writer see the need for such duplication? Foul is fair and fair is foul for sports fans when they want the odds to go against a team, other than their own favourite, I’m assuming..
Plus, it is early Christmas Eve, months before opening day, and Joe Bautista will be picked up by a team who needs an ace 1B/Of’er/Ph.
And one’s personal enterprizes can be operated as easily from Miami or the west coast, as it can be from To,, nowadays fellows
You’re creeping me out
a bit too much eggnog, i reckon
lmao
Comment of the year ^
Feel like I should have come out smarter after that one. Nope.
This is like reading a William S Burroughs short story.
This is the worst reply I have ever read in any sports forum, in the history of the Internet!
I see you started early today. I searched for a good five minutes for a meaning in all of that, but that was confusing to say the least.
RE: 7leven
“The Jays outfield is being undervalued by the writers of the multifarious articles…”
Is that supposed to be funny? I’m not being rude, I simply don’t see how you can be serious.
Pillar: Incredible defender, incredibly weak bat, cant take a walk, no power, fast, but terrible base runner and base stealer. If his bat and/or ability to get on base worsens, he will lose his job.
Zeke: Fourth/Fifth outfielder on a championship-caliber team.
Pompey: All kinds of unproven.
Upton: Who knows? Might contribute. Might hit .150
So Bats is asking for 1/150 now?
That’s pretty funny!
Probably true
talk about a free agent with no market
as long as the Cardinals don’t pick him up I don’t care
Okay…. The PHILLIES jump on in and give him a 1 year, $18.5 Million deal, and then they trade for Jay Bruce for a reliever.
1) C. Hernandez – 2B
2) O. Herrera – CF
3) M. Franco – 3B
4) J. Bruce – RF
5) J. Bautista – LF
6) T, Joseph – 1B
7) C. Rupp – C
8) F. Galvis – SS
9) J. Hellickson / C. Buchholz / A. Nola / V. Velasquez / J. Eickhoff
RPs) Benoit / Neris / Ramos / Neshek / J. Rodriguez / S. Gonzalez / Barrett
That’s a pure wild-card team at the very least.
And if not, you flip Buchholz, Hellickson, Bautista and Bruce… (Yes, they eat a lot of money for a much better return)
Phillies had the 4th lowest payroll LAST year.
Will be even lower this year…. No reason NOT to do this!
Donnie, you stole my post! I agree with you about Joey Bats but Jay Bruce can stay in NY. And you are forgetting about Howie Kendrick; the Phillies didnt trade for him to not be in your batting order. I would like to see the Phillies trade Hernandez while he has some relative value, and then put Kendrick at 2B. This would allow one OF spot available for the young guys, which we NEED to keep open in order to assess talent and development. I’m thinking:
LF–Quinn
2B–Kendrick
1B–Joseph
CF–Herrera
3B–Franco
RF–Bautista
SS–Galvis
C–Rupp
P
A left-handed power bat is needed, for sure, but I just don’t think Bruce is the answer here.
Again, it’s no guarantee that Bautista would perform or stay healthy. If he did, it’s also not a sure thing a team will want to make a deal for him. Philly has the money to make a short term deal but I wouldn’t want to dirty my hands with this terd
Jay Bruce at Citizen’s Bank would be a very good idea if you ask me, and Joey Bats would be too in my opinion. Mikel Franco would hit 30 with Batista behind him or Bruce if he’s hitting.
I’m a Mets fan, and I don’t want to see the Mets trade Bruce honestly (too many ? Marks in our lineup).
The only problem with Bruce and Bats on the same team is they both are RFs though if you could get away with it, it might be CBP for 81 games.
Jay Bruce hits left-handed.
Stupid. There’s. Reason why other teams won’t sign him. If Philly makes an asinine deal like that, and he gets hurt; then what? You’ve pissed away $10M , add that to bonehead signings Amaro made while he was there like Ryan Howard; ownership would think twice before letting MacPhail bust open the wallet later on when they need to sign players to put them over the top. Not worth the risk. Plus he’s a douchebag. I wouldn’t want to affiliate my team with him in any way. Unless, of course, it is the Roughned Odor way.
$10 million plus***
I’m a Phillies fan and the Phillies would be smart to do it they need a reason for fans to come to the games I went to like 10 last year and attendance was awful. Signing Bautista would at least give the fans something to go see
Signing the most hated player in the game will not put butts in seats. Winning sells tickets. Not 37 year old washed up outfielders with declining production. Use your brain bud
Ok I bet you “bud” that signing Bautista gets the Phillies some recognition. Check back with me if it happens “bud” bet I’m right. Check yourself before you come at me with your self praising attitude
And no offense but you’re delusional if you think this is a “Wild-Card team at the very least” next season if they added Jose Bautista to go with their addition of Clay Buchholz.. I’m sure both of those players will perform slightly better in the NL but I’m not sure if it’ll amount to a 20 win difference. I just don’t see that happening. I do believe the division is improving as well so that makes it even tougher to imagine. I like what MacPhail is doing for Phillies future though that’s for sure
Yeah; the only addition that makes the phillies a wild card team is if they add Clayton Kershaw or Mike Trout, and probably not even then
Hahahaha
This is the guy who demanded a non-negotiable $150m for 5 yrs.
I think that was the asking price in exchange for forgoing free agency. It’s a ridiculous figure for him, but it was more his agent saying we’re not going to seriously pursue an extention than an actual demand.
He shot that down in spring training and said it was false
If the A’s are willing to give $25M to EE, they can give one year at $20M to Jose. He’d at least get a shot at Odor 19 times a year.
I’d love to see this prima Donna go to a ballpark where the sewer has a tendency to overflow into the clubhouse. Would be so fitting.
I’m thinking that he’ll avoid the A’s because of Odor. Odor knocked him out on his feet. It was beautiful to see cocky Joey get clocked.
get joey bats red sox please
Don’t need Joey Bats in Boston, don’t have any room for him really
Already have five outfielders and two designated hitters
Can’t get Joey Bats. Red Sox are broke and have no desire to spend money now
No way man. This guy is an a-hole. Where would he play?
I’d like to see the Rays sign Bautista, but just don’t see how it would work on a 1 year deal if he wants to exceed the QO amount. Even with their first pick protected, the Rays would stand to lose a draft pick worth somewhere around $10mm. That would mean on a 1 year deal, you are projecting him out as a 3.5-4 WAR player. Considering his age and injuries last year and that is a risky projection. I would feel much more comfortable with a 1/$10-12mm or 2/$26-28mm type of contract. Time to wait and see who blinks first, Bautista or a desperate team.
He’s probably going to be disappointed
He had to feel pretty beat up after he asked for 5 years, $150M, and got laughed at.
It had to feel like a punch to the face when he turned down the QO, so he could sign a long term contract and has nothing so far.
Now he is begging for a one year offer for at least the QO price range.
Talk about karma….
Karma would be a 1-year deal with Texas for less than the QO. Flashbacks of getting punched in the face.
Karma was sweeping Odor away and thoroughly dismantling the Rangers.
Bautista really missed out on big earnings in his career for his production. The 5 year deal was the wrong length at the wrong time for him. A year shorter and he probably sees a nice payday last off-season. If he signs it a year earlier or later, it changes so much.
When he signed that deal, so many people thought he was on PED’s and a one year wonder. Glad that nonsense is over
Forgot to mention, and his demands for 150 a year ago were too over the top.
I bet they would have given him 4/80 or whatever last spring.
And I believe he said its not just 5/150 but it was non negotiable!!! What a prick
Don’t do it. Let him take 12. He doesn’t deserve more any way. And he played chicken and lost. Now pay the price
Someone needs to tell Bautista that nobody is going to give him more then $15 million.
Toronto’s turned into cheapskates, plus, they’re headed for the basement. He’ll never sign there. Join EE and bomb the H&^L out of the Roger’s Center next year.
The Dodgers like to give stupid deals out, but I don’t think they have a place to put Joey.
I in no way think that Joey is worth this type of coin, but I could see the Yanks making a ton of sense with a one-year deal. They would not have to forfeit a first round pick (Chapman), it can provide more of a bridge to Frazier and Judge and they have the money.
The Giants would not have to forfeit a first round pick either (Melancon). But at Bautista’s age, coming off a poor season, no available DH for his nagging maladies… and switching leagues? I think it would be a bad acquisition on their part.
Other than that I could imagine the Rays or A’s sucking it up signing to him one year-deal when his price becomes more reasonable (March) – Then trading him this summer, of course.
Small detail here… Neither Chapman nor Melancon had QOs, thus neither one had anything to do with whether those two teams do or don’t still have a first rounder they would stand to lose.
Yanks WOULD give a draft pick!
He’ll be lucky to get $10 million at this point. He’s probably looking at an Ian Desmond type deal (1yr/$8mm). Rays, Phillies would be smart to go for him.
1yr 8mil
Not on the Yanks, though!!!
Good no contract for this POS. Couldn’t happen to a bigger scumbag. I loved when Odor clocked you in your stupid face.
Me too
joey bats will be red sox 1B, put moreland off the bench
Joey could take over Papi
I’m not sure why the Jays would want him at more than 17.2 million, they can trade for Bruce (barring his no trade) for a middling prospect and pay him 13.5 for essentially the same production. The Jays built up their scouting department with guys like Ben Cherington, they’re salivating at them first round picks.
Grandpa Bautista finally adapting to the market
Let him and his pride sit there…my guess is at some point he will have to settle for 1 year in the 10-12 million range
Give him Ian Desmond phone # so he can talk him down
Jays need to sign him and play him at first. Then that allows us to move Pearce around in the corners and at second.
I like this. They might give him just a hair over QO so he saves some face. But only 1 yr.
I’ll say this about Bautista….
Two years ago in the playoffs after the brawl at Sky Dome, he stepped to the plate….I’ve NEVER ever seen a dude more “locked in” than that moment. I was sure he was going to hit a home run.
First pitch. Still hasn’t landed.
If not for the draft pick, I’d take him on my team. Although, I doubt he has fond memories here.
I agree 100 percent. The Loser Management in Toronto will guide that franchise to the basement.
I don’t see any team taking Bautista up on it and surrendering a draft pick the $18 M. Once Joey busts out the “Will Work for Food” sign, Shapiro will lock him up for 2017.
After Holliday got $13M and Morales got $16M, I don’t see any reason why a team wouldn’t at least match the QO for Bautista who has more value than both of those players because of his ability to still play OF.
Beltran got the 16M; Morales inked a 3/33 deal.
Morales signed early and Beltran is a solid hit AND great teammate. Joey Bats….well…he can probably still hit (if healthy).
…1 year, $90 million
Why not in Oakland for 1 year / 18M$ ? They went after EE, if Bautista turns out to have a nice season they could flip him at the deadline for prospects
Bautista to Dodgers, Puig
Puig
Puig to the Angels for Joe Gatto.
If Toronto was smart, they should trade for JD and extend him 4 years 80 million, 5th year team option $25 million with 5 million buyout. He would take it in a heartbeat after what has happened this off-season. Win/win
Just curious if anyone actually likes Joey as a person? He is just such an ass I think a lot of teams pass on his personality alone and diminished value. A draft pick for this guy? No thanks
This idiot back in February was thinking/demanding/seeking a deal of 5 years and $150 million. Looks like reality is smacking this b**ch in the face HARD. I just can’t believe he thought he was worth $30M/year. What a dummy. IMO he’ll be lucky to get a deal similar to Encarnacion’s. Not only is Encarnacion 2 years younger, but he has put up pretty much identical stats to Bautista in their time with Toronto in which Bautista arrived their in 2009 and Encarnacion in 2010. Here are their average season numbers while with Toronto, remember, Bautista is entering his age 36 season while Encarnacion is entering his age 34 season.
Bautista (8 full season in Toronto)
132 Games, 86 R, 24 2B, 2 3B, 33 HR, 86 RBI, .261 BA, .384 OBP, .914 OPS, 146 OPS+, 4.7 WAR player (if you actually put stock in WAR…. pretty much all offensively seeing as he is a negative defensive WAR player)
Encarnacion (7 full seasons in Toronto)
137 Games, 81 R, 28 2B, 0 3B, 33 HR, 94 RBI, .269 BA, .357 OBP, .883 OPS, 137 OPS+, 3.4 WAR
Again, Encarnacion is 34 to Bautista’s age of 36. Bautista is coming off a pretty bad 2016….. VERY bad for a guy who thought he was worth $30M/season at the beginning of the year.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Bautista Jermaine Dye’s himself and prices himself out of baseball. His ego will force him into retirement much like Dye’s did. After 2009 Dye refused to sign with anyone for 2010 and beyond because they didn’t offer him money he deemed worthy of his status. Ironically 2009, Dye’s last season, was his age 35 season……. just like Bautista. We shall see if Bautista becomes Dye 2.0.
Rebuilding teams should jump on this. He’ll bring some intangibles along with good plate discipline. It’s been 6 years so we know Bautista is for real. 1 year deal at 18 MM with the understanding that if he performs well, he’ll get traded to a contending club and he’ll put himself in a position to earn a 2 or 3 year deal.
Crazy idea – back to the Bucs for 1 year, 16- 18 mil. His girlfriend is from some farm town like 90 min away
Please set up a contest for where Jose Batista ends up.
I think Batista signs a one year contact in San Diego after the start of the season… then traded by the all star break.
Calling Rangers on a one- or two- year guarantee, $15-20m per, with multiple Ortiz/Utleyesque options at the end, $15m per or whatever. So there is a lot of upside for punting the pick, but he still gets paid pretty well.
Doesn’t make sense for Toronto to do it. The draft pick is waiting for them.
My softball team will take him — 6 Pack of Old Style Tall-Boys and half at wings at McGee’s on game nights – final offer.
Nice!
I’m thinking Colorado. Dude might hit 50 going to Colorado. If this one year deal is a reality, I could see a 1/15 but who wants to give up a prospect for a year year deal. No one!? Especially after seeing Desmond go to Colorado for a big pay day…
No way they give up the 11th pick for 1yr of Joey Bats…at least they shouldn’t, but they are COL so….
Should have taken the QO. I would never sign a guy who just showed me he has zero sense
Hope he ends up having to take an offer under 10m. I don’t like him much so this is entertaining. He’s just another player in a long line of them that think they’re worth way more than they actually are.
I’m sorry, but how is the next move on Toronto?
Toronto extends a QO
Bautista declines
Toronto says that’s all we’re willing to offer you
Bautista explores free agency finding nothing, tells teams he still wants more than QO
The market seems to support Toronto only offering the QO… If the next move is truly Toronto’s then they should offer 1-2M less than QO, and each time he declines, take 1M away from the offer
Bautista to the A`s or Giants. It`ll happen.
Angels will take him on a 1 yr 5m deal.
Rangers will take him on a 2 year league minimum deal 😉
Nice offer Diablo, but as an angel fan I don’t want a bum in right field killing our attendance rate. Bautista should stay in Canada. No team wants him in the U.S..A.
Bautista was supposedly seen checking into the Ritz in Cleveland today.
If he goes to Cleveland they will probably have one of the best lineups in baseball, but bautista wants like 20 million a year. They spent enough on encarnacion.
Why couldn’t a team who desires Bautista, work out a deal with the Blue Jays where the Blue Jays would sign him and then trade him to the respective team?