Jose Bautista reportedly seeking 5-year deal worth more than $150M
On Monday, Toronto Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista was asked about his contract situation, and ... he had some very specific things to say.
With Joey Bats heading into his final season under contract in Toronto, much has been speculated about the Jays' chances of retaining his services. In light of the Jays avoiding arbitration with reigning AL MVP Josh Donaldson, Bautista is obviously looking for his own lucrative payday. On Tuesday, TSN reported he wants a five-year deal worth more than $30 million per year. Bautista quickly denied that report.
Jose Bautista on report he asked for $150m over five years: "False." #BlueJays
— Shi Davidi (@ShiDavidi) February 23, 2016
Speaking with Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet Magazine on Monday, Bautista made it explicitly clear that he will not be entertaining the idea of a 'hometown discount' with the Blue Jays.
Moreover, Bautista is so confident in his value that he and his agents are unwilling to negotiate the dollar/years amount they exchanged with the front office recently:
Bautista: "I'm not willing to negotiate. I don't think there should be any negotiation. I think I've proven myself." #BlueJays
— Arden Zwelling (@ArdenZwelling) February 22, 2016
Bautista: "There's no negotiation. I told them what I wanted. They either meet it or it is what it is." #BlueJays
— Arden Zwelling (@ArdenZwelling) February 22, 2016
Here's his full statement about the proceedings (or lack thereof), as passed along by Zwelling:
Bautista on Blue Jays payroll, budget, ownership... pic.twitter.com/3dG3Jx3vu9
— Arden Zwelling (@ArdenZwelling) February 22, 2016
Toronto is a power in the AL East coming off an exciting postseason run in 2015, one that led to Bautista getting his own special baseball card. For him to clearly say he "doesn't believe" in the concepts of payroll and budget is rather noteworthy, especially given Toronto's success.
This will definitely be something to monitor as spring training rolls along and the season begins, as the Jays will apparently have to make a rather big decision relatively soon.
