Toronto Blue Jays Rumors: Jose Bautista’s Future Less Certain Than Ever
By Paul Taylor
With Jose Bautista claiming the Toronto Blue Jays front office leaked details of his contract demands, the divide between the two sides continues to grow.
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Jose Bautista‘s future with the Toronto Blue Jays is already on shaky ground, after reports that he is demanding $150 million over five years. Now, it appears things are on the verge of turning downright nasty between the two sides.
As per the respected Pete Gammons, Bautista claims the rumors surrounding his contract demands were leaked by the Rogers ownership. The six-time All-Star believes this was done, in order to make him appear greedy to the general public.
If true, it would certainly make sense, with the Blue Jays front office not particularly popular with fans right now. If Bautista leaves, there will be a widespread anger, hence it appears Mark Shapiro and company are doing their best in advance to limit the potential backlash.
This is not the first time the former 20th round draft pick has offered an opinion on the ownership group. Just last month, he discussed Rogers Communications with the media, including Sportsnet.
Bautista said: “In a publicly-traded company, everybody can track their performance fairly easy. It’s not a secret. It’s out in the public.
“Stock prices are monitored very closely by the whole financial world, and I think there is a direct correlation with the success of their earnings per share after we start experiencing success.
“Are they going to put it out in the media and say because of the Jays, we made all this money? No. But everybody can read between the lines.”
Before anyone scoffs at the three-time Silver Slugger Award winner, keep in mind he isn’t your average player. He is extremely intelligent and, as he confirmed to Gammons, recently returned to the University of South Florida to complete his BA in business.
While Bautista wouldn’t address the money aspect, he did admit he is actually looking for six years, rather than the five reported in the media. He genuinely believes he will still be producing at a similar level, when he turns 40.
Bautista told Gammons: “I am preparing to be physically capable of doing the same. I am preparing to defy those aging curves by my strict adherence to physical, mental and nutritional routines.
“I studied, I learned about my body, and how to keep it at peak performance levels, and how to maintain it…It is about discipline and diet and strive for physical and mental states that defy aging.
“I love a good steak; I cannot eat red meat. There are a lot of things I love, but I cannot be who and what I want to be and eat and drink them.”
In fairness, the Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic has already done a lot to defy the usual progression for an outfielder. His career didn’t take off until he turned 29 and he is certainly fitter than your typical 35-year old professional athlete.
Furthermore, Bautista appears to be over the injuries which dogged him during 2012 and 2013. However, despite all this, there are still no guarantees he will be as effective in six years time.
Unfortunately, with every passing day and with each new report, the gap between the player and the organization continues to grow wider. Fans should take every opportunity to watch Bautista play this year, because we may well be about to witness his final season in a Blue Jays uniform.
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What do you make of Jose Bautista’s latest comments? Do you side with him or the front office? Let us know in the comments section below.