Bautista says he’s told Blue Jays what deal he’d agree to

Saunders would have gone to the Los Angeles Angels and Cincinnati Reds outfielder Jay Bruce to the Blue Jays with the Reds receiving prospects from Toronto.

Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista wraps his arm during spring training baseball practice in Dunedin, Fla., Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2016. The 35-year-old had 40 homers and 114 RBI last season as Toronto won the AL East and reached the playoffs for the first time since winning the 1993 title. “I don’t think there should be any negotiation”.

“As far as my expectations go, I didn’t really know who he was”, admits manager John Gibbons now.

Bautista told reporters Monday that he is “not willing to negotiate”.

Bautista clearly feels that he has been underpaid during his time in Toronto and is now doing everything he can in order to gain leverage on the franchise. Bautista certainly wasn’t the top paid hitter during his last contract but his deal wasn’t completely ludicrous either.

Manager John Gibbons is not the slightest bit concerned that it will get in the way of the team’s overall goals because he doesn’t believe Bautista would let that happen.

“I’m not trying to sound like it was adamant and I put down the law and I drew lines in the sand”, Bautista said. The first thing I think about is the player. However, he said that was a cover-up to help him deal with being exhausted after sleeping for just three hours. His response: “I don’t know”.

Buckle up, Blue Jays fans.

“In a publicly traded company, everybody can track their performance fairly easy. It’s out in the public”, Bautista said.

Regardless, all that trade buzz was overshadowed by Jose Bautista’s comments to the media about his negotiations – or lack thereof – with the team on a contract extension, giving every indication that he and the club might be headed for a split after this season when the 36 year old is a free agent. Bautista said Monday that, if club president Mark Shapiro had agreed to his contract demand when they met, he would have signed.

“It doesn’t exist“, Bautista said when asked about the topic. “In my eyes, I’ve given this organization a five-year hometown discount already”, referring to the five-year contract he signed in 2011. By season’s end, he had a 13-8 record and had made 28 starts with a 3.13 ERA, tossing 181 innings, more than in any of his previous seven big-league seasons. He has averaged 35 home runs a year since then.

“I did not go to them. I’d bet a lot of money on him having a really good year this year because he is in a situation where he has to prove himself”. But for the sake of the new management regime’s introduction to Blue Jay Nation, can they afford not to? Now, it’s in the Blue Jays’ hands to decide if they want to meet that asking price.