TORONTO — Having already parted with one franchise icon this winter, the Toronto Blue Jays appear to be on the verge of retaining another as they near an agreement with Jose Bautista.
According to a handful of reports, including Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com who was first, the sides are working towards a deal. Details weren’t immediately known, but if a contract is completed, it would end a hard to understand free agency for the slugger, who didn’t get the level of interest befitting someone with his track record.
A reunion would provide a local boost for the Blue Jays after the loss of Edwin Encarnacion and an off-season that to this point is highlighted by the signings of Kendrys Morales and Steve Pearce.
Bautista’s return seemed highly unlikely through most of the off-season as the Blue Jays extended him a $17.2 million qualifying offer and then did very little other negotiating with him.
Being tied to draft pick compensation surely impacted his market given that he’s entering his age 36 season after a pair of DL stints limited his production last year. The Blue Jays, who gained a first-round selection when Encarnacion signed with Cleveland, surrender the pick Bautista would have fetched them as they try to maximize their current window of opportunity.
Bautista was by far the best offensive player left on the free agent market and offered a significant upgrade for several teams.
That the Blue Jays seem to have slow-played him before potentially making him a leverage add weeks before spring training is also intriguing.
Rather than come out aggressively in an attempt to re-sign him the way they did with Encarnacion and Brett Cecil, they left Bautista to linger, creating the impression they weren’t all that interested in bringing back one of the top players in franchise history.
The Blue Jays were at roughly $131.5 million in guarantees including Marcus Stroman, who is headed for arbitration, with another $5 million or so due for 0-3 service time players.
They are believed to have in the area of $160 million to spend, and still need a backup catcher and left-handed reliever.
