Jose says NO!

[2014olympicgold]

If this is truly his number, all I can say is "thanks for the memories. It's been a slice".

https://mobile.twitter.com/BNHarring...1627748352?p=v

Was coming here to say that. That’s him saying, “I want FA money”. Edwin will be cheaper…hopefully.

It would have been better for the Jays if his demand didn’t come out, this kills his trade value.

[Axeman33]

If they Jays werent willing to give that type of money to David Price, they sure aint giving it to Bautista. I dont care what he's done for the team and city.

[bondon]

What a mess this situation has become.

Any thought of a "hometown discount" (which doesn't exist in baseball period, not just in Jose's world) walked out the door when the organization decided that they were done with the AA and Beeston era. These were the guys who gave Bautista the shot. Bautista doesn't owe Atkins or Shapiro or least of all Rogers anything. Bautista has been openly critical of ownership his entire time here, so it's not surprising that his comments were essentially shots at ownership for a lack of investment. Deservedly so too IMO.

At the same time, I think Jose's an idiot to even begin to fathom that he gave Toronto a hometown discount. Did he outplay the size of his contract? Sure. But the previous regime took a pretty sizeable gamble giving a 5 year extension to a guy who was largely unproven at the time. He should remember that when he came over to Toronto he was pretty much trash. It's not like he came to Toronto and he was instantly amazing - it took him a full season and a bit before he had a monstrous season. The organization could have easily chipped him aside and he could very well be playing ball in the Dominican right now if they hadn't given him serious looks. So if he's going to be a realist about "hometown discounts" he should really think about how real the gamble was that AA and Beeston laid out for him.

[Chuk]

I agree that ll loyalty left town with AA. The issue Bautista always had was with Rogers and his sentiments yesterday reflect that. With a winning team, Rogers sees 50,000+ per game and millions being spent on merchandise, with even more flocking to all the media giants channels, websites and apps.

Players are not stupid. They can track the money along with every shareholder and executive.

I have learned from baseball, being in a division with the Yankees and Sox, that money does not matter and should not matter to fans. The top 10 spending teams consistently make it to the playoffs every year and in turn they can spend more and more. Corporations that control media platforms are making money hand over fist and the actual "baseball revenues" are a fraction of the financial considerations.

If Rogers wants their money, they will spend money. They just need to hire the right guy to spend it.

Unfortunately I think he is in LA now.

[2014olympicgold]

Now he’s denied asking for 150mill.

[Chuk]

Shapiro/Atkins: Hey Jose do you want to meet to negotiate your contract
Bautista: Sure
Shapiro/Atkins: Great so let's talk 2-3 years at a hometown discount
Bautista: ......................
Shapiro/Atkins: Well we think we can look at a fair deal for both sides. In Cleveland......
Bautista:Were you here last year? Did you watch me play? Did you see how much Rogers made? I know what is fair.
Shapiro/Atkins: What do you mean? In Cleveland we.......
Bautista: I know what I am worth and you should to.
Shapiro/Atkins: Well what are you worth? Because in Cleveland we........
Bautista: I am worth 30 million a year and you know it.
Shapiro/Atkins: UHHHH 30 million, that is a lot of money for a 36 year old..... you need to understand...... in Cleveland......
Bautista: 5 years
Shapiro/Atkins: well.... uhhhh......budget, canadian dollar.... but in Cleveland we.......
Bautista: Goodbye.


Story is leaked by the Cleveland Shapeyero's........ And the beginning of the end of baseball begins in Toronto.

Rogers goes on a Riccardi like run for 20 years only to discover, they need to hire a smart young kid, who loves Toronto and will build a winner, where the players love and respect him.....

Will never happen....

If only we could build a winner....like in Cleveland.

[Axeman33]

https://mobile.twitter.com/Ken_Rosen...6703524865?p=v

Hearing same as @jonheyman: Bautista asked #BlueJays for more than 5 yrs and more than $150M. But average annual value was below $30M per.

[StuntMan12]

If AA was still in power I think a deal might...MIGHT get done but with these new guys who are pretty methodical I really REALLY don't see a deal happening. I don't blame JB for asking that, for the past 5 years he was getting a discount ... really. Some other team will pay him, not quite 30 mill but more than what the BJ will be offering imo.

[2014olympicgold]

162mill/6yrs? AKA 27mill/yr

[blayze]

I can't blame the guy for trying to maximize his contract , and to a certain extent I think he deserves it, but boy, what a moronic thing to say in public...

Not that we should be surprised... this is bautista after all and it's why we love and hate him.

[bondon]

Lol. 5 years was already a ridiculous demand for a guy at his age. The fact that it's more than 5 years just shows how stupid this league is, because ultimately, if the Jays don't give it to him someone else will. And some teams can afford to just piss away money. Paying north of $25 mill per season for a guy who in all likelihood is going to have to DH in a few years is so dumb. Bautista's already a subpar defender IMO outside of his cannon of an arm, which is already starting to deteriorate with injuries. Has limited range and makes really questionable decisions on borderline plays.

To me this whole ordeal screams of a (not so) veiled challenge from Bautista to ownership. His whole time here he always made it very clear that he didn't feel that ownership was investing enough into the team, and that Rogers and management were always screwing the players over by not committing to the team. After a successful postseason run he knows that Rogers just made a boatload more money off of last season and he's determined to get a chunk of it. In fact it wouldn't surprise me if, in his mind, he feels that he is owed literally millions of dollars just for that one homerun, because it resulted in free publicity and promotion for the organization, and also brought in a whole second series in the playoff run. It really never ceases to amaze me how a player who struggled for so many years before finally making it big could have literally 0 sense of humility. I think blayze said it best - it's why we love and hate him.

Anyways, I get that he's trying to maximize the value on his contract - and by all means he has a right to do so. It doesn't make it any less stupid. At more than 5 years and $150 mill (hell at that amount period) I'm saying so long.

[rataylor22]

Lol. 5 years was already a ridiculous demand for a guy at his age. The fact that it's more than 5 years just shows how stupid this league is, because ultimately, if the Jays don't give it to him someone else will. And some teams can afford to just piss away money. Paying north of $25 mill per season for a guy who in all likelihood is going to have to DH in a few years is so dumb. Bautista's already a subpar defender IMO outside of his cannon of an arm, which is already starting to deteriorate with injuries. Has limited range and makes really questionable decisions on borderline plays.

To me this whole ordeal screams of a (not so) veiled challenge from Bautista to ownership. His whole time here he always made it very clear that he didn't feel that ownership was investing enough into the team, and that Rogers and management were always screwing the players over by not committing to the team. After a successful postseason run he knows that Rogers just made a boatload more money off of last season and he's determined to get a chunk of it. In fact it wouldn't surprise me if, in his mind, he feels that he is owed literally millions of dollars just for that one homerun, because it resulted in free publicity and promotion for the organization, and also brought in a whole second series in the playoff run. It really never ceases to amaze me how a player who struggled for so many years before finally making it big could have literally 0 sense of humility. I think blayze said it best - it's why we love and hate him.

Anyways, I get that he's trying to maximize the value on his contract - and by all means he has a right to do so. It doesn't make it any less stupid. At more than 5 years and $150 mill (hell at that amount period) I'm saying so long.

The Blue Jays are one of those teams. They generally choose not to, but that doesn't mean they can't afford to.