Blue Jays President Mark Shapiro Hints At Wanting Jose Bautista Back
The Blue Jays and Jose Bautista just need to hurry up and fuck already. It’s making everybody else uncomfortable. The tension is palpable.
It goes all the way back to last spring when Bautista said that he wasn’t going to take a hometown discount, and that his previous five seasons in Toronto essentially already were hometown discounts. I agree with that point, but then he shot for the moon by asking for a deal in the five-year, $150-180 million range as a free agent, which is/was/always will be laughable. At that asking price, nobody is biting, never mind just the Blue Jays. Not even Magic Johnson thought that was a good idea.
As this offseason has unfolded for Bautista, we’ve seen reports that his agent informed the Red Sox that Bautista would like to come to Boston. That never came to fruition, because the Red Sox don’t have the money to spend. They also reached out to the Rangers, but those talks, very predictably, never went anywhere. Perhaps the Bautista camp was floating rumors to get Toronto’s attention, AKA make them a little jealous? Doubt it. I honestly think he’s just desperately looking for a job, and is baffled that his market has torpedoed from the figure that he was originally asking for, to not even being able to get a one-year deal that’s worth more than what the qualifying offer pays out, which he declined.
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A week ago today, the latest update was that the Blue Jays “do not seem anxious” to re-sign Bautista, and that “it seems their goal all along was to get the draft pick when he signs elsewhere.” Harsh. Worth repeating — that was literally one week ago. Today, Blue Jays President Mark Shapiro basically said he wants Bautista back. Toronto needs a corner outfielder, Jose Bautista is a corner outfielder, and he’s the best one on the market, according to Shapiro. Boom.
It’s like sending roses and pizza to a girl to get their attention, and they text you back all day every day, so it seems like the interest is mutual, but she still won’t hang out with you. It doesn’t make any sense. What the fuck is the holdup? Bautista wants Toronto, and Toronto wants Bautista. What am I missing here? Get Joey Bats back in Toronto where he belongs.