Rick Westhead: Jose Bautista seeks 5 years $150M

[xposbrad]

CWS, Detroit

 

Very very unlikely CWS would be interested in a 20m/dh, and I can't see DET having the payroll either looking at some of their contracts. They are also tied in to VM next year and after also (his salary is now 18m). It really would only be Toronto or Boston.

[Stangstag]

I wouldn't be surprised to see a team like Houston or LAA interested in Bautista.

[Dick_Pole]

Yeah Delgado was awesome and he didn't really create much lingering bitterness despite how poorly things went down. Bautista on the other hand seems to be preparing his heel turn.

 

Delgado also had the advantage in that Twitter was still 5 years away from being invented.

 

90% of the clubhouse nonsense we've seen over the past 5 years seems to be created by Twitter. The other 10% was Bonafacio.

[KingKat]

Delgado also had the advantage in that Twitter was still 5 years away from being invented.

 

90% of the clubhouse nonsense we've seen over the past 5 years seems to be created by Twitter. The other 10% was Bonafacio.

 

There isn't really anything controversial going on on Bautista's Twitter:

 

All his most controversial statements have been made through traditional media.

 

Edit: His Twitter does reads like it was written by a 14 year old but it's not exactly controversial.

Edited February 24, 2016 by KingKat

[burlingtonbandit]

I wouldn't be surprised to see a team like Houston or LAA interested in Bautista.

 

Yeah Houston is a good fit with the short porch in LF. I always find there are teams you don't think would be interested that jump into the mix once FA gets underway. If Jose has a good season he is going to get paid and good chance its more than his value going forward is worth.

[Spanky99]

This is like your childhood sweetheart telling you you'll stay a couple this summer but she's planning on f***ing other guys starting next year.

 

lol

[RealAccountant]

The problem with Jose is that he is so arrogant he thinks he will be hitting 40HR at age 40 and deserves $30M per year.

 

Why is that so impossible. He takes amazing care of himself quite frankly he is in better shape then most 26 year olds. He has probably the best eye and strike zone judgement in baseball, that won't dissapate with time. He is not a typical power guy

 

I don't think his power will just fall off the cliff.

[xposbrad]

Yeah Houston is a good fit with the short porch in LF. I always find there are teams you don't think would be interested that jump into the mix once FA gets underway. If Jose has a good season he is going to get paid and good chance its more than his value going forward is worth.

 

You think a team with a 89m payroll, ranked 22nd in mlb, is going to add a 20m+ player for DH? I'm just curious if you really think Houston would be in on him. Considering Keuchel might be signed long term. I just don't see houston as a fit targeting a 36 year old player. That would be way too risky for them.

[Dick_Pole]

Why is that so impossible. He takes amazing care of himself quite frankly he is in better shape then most 26 year olds. He has probably the best eye and strike zone judgement in baseball, that won't dissapate with time. He is not a typical power guy

 

I don't think his power will just fall off the cliff.

 

I think that should be the case for the vast majority of 35 year old athletes. Access to the best facilities/trainers and millions of dollars on the line for motivation.

[KingKat]

Why is that so impossible. He takes amazing care of himself quite frankly he is in better shape then most 26 year olds. He has probably the best eye and strike zone judgement in baseball, that won't dissapate with time. He is not a typical power guy

 

I don't think his power will just fall off the cliff.

 

Fourty homeruns at age 40 has literally never been done.

[KingKat]

I think that should be the case for the vast majority of 35 year old athletes. Access to the best facilities/trainers and millions of dollars on the line for motivation.

 

Yeah just because you're doing everything you can to fight aging doesn't mean aging isn't happening.

[metafour]

Why is that so impossible. He takes amazing care of himself quite frankly he is in better shape then most 26 year olds. He has probably the best eye and strike zone judgement in baseball, that won't dissapate with time. He is not a typical power guy

 

I don't think his power will just fall off the cliff.

 

You think he's the first mid 30's athlete to "take good care of his body"? Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash...there are lots of guys in several sports who looked like they were "defying age" until all of a sudden it hit them like a Mack truck. In most cases the "decline" is extremely sharp: all of a sudden they suck, just like you see now out of 37 year old Kobe Bryant.

 

Bautista's power is largely generated by bat speed, which I seriously doubt he'll be able to maintain.

[Dick_Pole]

When I think of playing time clauses on aging players, I think of the Frank Thomas fiasco. Dude was hitting poorly and the team wanted to transition him into a platoon role. Dude had a fit because he felt the team was trying to weasel out of an option that was going to trigger if he got a certain amount of playing time (which the team probably WAS trying to weasel out of but not unjustifiably so). If Bautista's production declines and the teams starts feeling pressure to bench him more and he starts to think the team is being cheap... Yuck, don't want to go there.

 

Yeah it was a bad situation. I side with Thomas on that one. He hit pretty well the year before in 155 games, about as good as you could expect from a 39 year old. He did struggle to start the next year but they barely gave him a chance.

[Stangstag]

A funny end to this debacle would be if Bautista fails to hit 25 homeruns this season and doesn't manage to crack 3 WAR.

[Sammy225]

A funny end to this debacle would be if Bautista fails to hit 25 homeruns this season and doesn't manage to crack 3 WAR.

 

I don't think it would be funny because that would have serious repercussions to the playoffs lol

[Cyborg]

A funny end to this debacle would be if Bautista fails to hit 25 homeruns this season and doesn't manage to crack 3 WAR.

That would not be funny because I want the WS.

[admin]

Why is that so impossible. He takes amazing care of himself quite frankly he is in better shape then most 26 year olds. He has probably the best eye and strike zone judgement in baseball, that won't dissapate with time. He is not a typical power guy

 

I don't think his power will just fall off the cliff.

 

Sure, maybe he will, but I will take the better odds of him declining like every other player in his late 30s. He will more than likely still be good, but there's no way he's a $30M player when he's 40.

[canadiansportsjunkie]

His request is ********. Trying to make up money he thinks he lost over the years yet was most likely jumping for joy signing that 5 year deal.

 

3 Years at 30 each is more like it. The last two years have to be built around incentives...the dude is going to be a DH.

 

Let it be and let him play with a chip on his shoulder.

[Spanky99]

 

 

 

What is this?

[Stangstag]

Jose got me looking at old players.

 

Bonds age 43 season. 1.045 OPS and 27% BB rate. lmao.

 

Fangraphs should do a win curve or something about Bonds' expected 43-51 years in the MLB if he hadn't been pushed out.

 

Bonds was a freak

[Governator]

I know it's the right thing to not extend Bautista at some insane value (and well especially the way things are unfolding) but man I'll feel crushed seeing his highlights for another team.

[BigCecil]

I know it's the right thing to not extend Bautista at some insane value (and well especially the way things are unfolding) but man I'll feel crushed seeing his highlights for another team.

 

Heard that Gov. Feel same. Have to detach the emotion from this one and think of the best business decision. Shapiro can't get caught taking too much risk with a 36 year old even though I'll never forget game 5 against Texas. (and he almost won us game 6 against KC if not for some bad luck and calls on Navvy and Revere).

[KingKat]

It's funny. Now that I'm pretty Jose's leaving, I'm realizing that I'm pretty o.k. with it. He's the face of the franchise sure but he's no longer THE franchise. If you you suddenly had money to burn, Bautista wouldn't even be the best place to burn it. That would be Donaldson. Only the sentimental factors says otherwise.

[Angrioter]

Jose got me looking at old players.

 

Bonds age 43 season. 1.045 OPS and 27% BB rate. lmao.

 

Fangraphs should do a win curve or something about Bonds' expected 43-51 years in the MLB if he hadn't been pushed out.

 

Roids?

[BTS]

Is there truth behind the idea that that A) Bautista is some kind of athletic freak relative to other MLB players, and that being in the 98th percentile or whatever of players his age in terms of fitness is a significant consideration when trying to determine how well he'll hold up? Some of the only guys to hold up into their late 30s recently are Ortiz, V-Mart, Manny, Thome, Bonds, and Beltran. Some huge guys, but probably not better than average fitness for players their age.

[KingKat]

Is there truth behind the idea that that A) Bautista is some kind of athletic freak relative to other MLB players, and that being in the 98th percentile or whatever of players his age in terms of fitness is a significant consideration when trying to determine how well he'll hold up? Some of the only guys to hold up into their late 30s recently are Ortiz, V-Mart, Manny, Thome, Bonds, and Beltran. Some huge guys, but probably not better than average fitness for players their age.

 

Doesn't seem to be much evidence for either claim. Seems more like wishful thinking.

[Stangstag]

I think it's pretty brutal that the "face of the franchise" is openly trashing the front office in his walk year.

[KingKat]

I think it's pretty brutal that the "face of the franchise" is openly trashing the front office in his walk year.

 

Blah, blah, blah, corporations, blah, blah, blah, profits. Sounds a lot like a casual which isn't surprising, his job is to be good at baseball not understand baseball or corporate economics but it would be nice if he realized where his expertise ends and kept his rant for himself. At this point, all Atkins can do about Bautista is avoid putting more oil on the fire.

[glory]

He knows that Shapiro/Atkins are limited in what they can do. Rogers will have to sign off on the type of contract he wants, which is why he directed his venom at them. At least that's the impression he's giving.

[Governator]

It's funny. Now that I'm pretty Jose's leaving, I'm realizing that I'm pretty o.k. with it. He's the face of the franchise sure but he's no longer THE franchise. If you you suddenly had money to burn, Bautista wouldn't even be the best place to burn it. That would be Donaldson. Only the sentimental factors says otherwise.

 

I can't say Bautista has ever been my favourite player but I tell ya, I've watched the Jays throughout the rough years and it wasn't until towards the end of the 09 season that my eyes went bright with excitement watching Jose break out and homer in like 7 of his last 9 games or whatever it was. I got excited for 2010 and don't think I've missed a game since he broke out. It's easy to say we have his replacement in JD, that's obvious from a production standpoint but the combination of Joey Bats leading the way in 2010 and then afterward the new logo, buzz, etc. completely revitalized this organization and made the team relevant again in this city. Since 2011 I'd say more ppl have been wearing Jays gear than Leafs and Bautista has a lot to do with that, it wasn't just because of the modern throwback logo.

 

So while he comes across as an egotistical douche most times, I can appreciate what he's done for this team more than any player in the past 20 years - even Halladay. That may sound a bit extreme but looking back I think he's done more for us than most give credit for.