Jose Bautista placed on 15-day DL with a left knee sprain. OF Junior Lake recalled

[G-Snarls]

Bautista has been the face of this franchise since 2010 and played a crucial role especially at a time when fan interest with the Jays was near an all-time low with them trading Doc after 2009.

 

Even if he leaves this offseason, he is one of the best players to ever wear a Blue Jays uniform. He's up there with all the greats, and deservingly so.

 

Agree totally except that I don't see him as the face anymore

 

I just think I can now live with letting him go if it's the smart baseball decision.

 

If they can work.out a reasonable short term deal with him, then that's OK too.

 

I'd like to see him retire as a Jay too, but not if the price for that is 3-5 overpaid mediocre years.

[BlueRocky]

I also want the Jays to honor Bautista

 

But anything close to 150M/5yr extension won't sense for the Jays. Yet other teams might offer him that much to pull him away from Toronto. And there's no way he can live up to that type of contract at his age.

[G-Snarls]

And don't kid yourselves. Josh Donaldson is going to go for $150 Million plus and it won't be with the Jays

 

Well he's worth it at this point

 

And everyone knows it

[RealAccountant]

No team is offering Jose 5/150

 

We need a contract that will allow the Jays to retain Joey Bats efficiently and as a DH while also maintaining his pride

 

Best Jose probably does right now is 3/60 we should give him that with incentives and have him retire in a Jays uniform

[puphood]

Has there been anything official on JB's knee in regards to what kind of injury he sustained? JB has had a disappointing year and if the jays would have had him in the line up and hitting 25-30HR we probably would be walking away with this division. It would be nice to see the FO make a serious creative offer to keep him here even if it was for one year or two at a time. This guy still can contribute. ..........

[BlueRocky]

No team is offering Jose 5/150

 

We need a contract that will allow the Jays to retain Joey Bats efficiently and as a DH while also maintaining his pride

 

Best Jose probably does right now is 3/60 we should give him that with incentives and have him retire in a Jays uniform

 

I would do 60m/3yrs in a heartbeat. If he was willing to sign such a deal I think it would've been done long ago. But who knows, maybe injuries have brought down his stock

[jaysblue]

Agree totally except that I don't see him as the face anymore

 

I just think I can now live with letting him go if it's the smart baseball decision.

 

If they can work.out a reasonable short term deal with him, then that's OK too.

 

I'd like to see him retire as a Jay too, but not if the price for that is 3-5 overpaid mediocre years.

 

Never said they should overpay to retain him over the next 3-5 years. Also, I wouldn't be upset if he's let go. The Jays have proven that they can win without Bautista.

 

As for using the term "face of the franchise" it's kind of fuzzy and could be interpreted in different ways. I don't think it always has to be limited to only one player. I could think of a lot of baseball teams that have multiple guys who you could slap that label on (Giants with Bumgarner & Posey; Nationals with Stras & Harper; Red Sox with Pedroia and Ortiz; Cubs with Rizzo & Bryant; Tigers with Miggy & Verlander; Yankees with Jeter, Rivera, Williams etc).

[GreekFatAss]

It's Amazing how little loyalty the fans have these days considering how big of a part Bautista had in reviving the franchise

 

You would think people would want him to retire in a Jays uniform. Sports is not just about numbers its also about enjoying a journey.

 

We are loyal to the Jays not Jose. I will be a Jays fan long after he is gone.

[Terminator]

I would do 60m/3yrs in a heartbeat. If he was willing to sign such a deal I think it would've been done long ago. But who knows, maybe injuries have brought down his stock

 

Would any other team offer that right now? Ortiz, Beltre, Beltran were all in similar circumstances at their ages and none got that much money.

[Dr. Dinger]

We are loyal to the Jays not Jose. I will be a Jays fan long after he is gone.

 

Lol @ loyalty. Overtures were made in the offseason, perhaps even offers. Jose rebuffed us, not the other way around. He's had a disaster season and it backfired in his face; them's the breaks. I'd love to have him back for 2-3 years at reasonable market value, but you don't overpay for a player of his age with atrocious defense and a (probably) declining bat.

[GreekFatAss]

Lol @ loyalty. Overtures were made in the offseason, perhaps even offers. Jose rebuffed us, not the other way around. He's had a disaster season and it backfired in his face; them's the breaks. I'd love to have him back for 2-3 years at reasonable market value, but you don't overpay for a player of his age with atrocious defense and a (probably) declining bat.

 

Didn't I just imply that by saying we are loyal to the Jays and not Jose...?

[Dr. Dinger]

Didn't I just imply that by saying we are loyal to the Jays and not Jose...?

 

I was agreeing with you and expanding on your point. Quotefail.

[CHRIS]

Jose rebuffed us, not the other way around. He's had a disaster season and it backfired in his face; them's the breaks.

 

He's had really terrible timing in general.

 

- putting in a just a single great season before becoming a free agent and signing his existing deal, which turned out to be a bargain because nobody knew if it was a fluke, or the new normal

- having that deal expire just as he falls off a cliff

 

If he gets in two seasons before signing his current deal, or had it expire before this season rather than after, he would find himself considerably richer than he is now. Imagine if they had had to make the extension decision after the bat flip moment?

 

Not that I feel bad for him at all; he's still really wealthy, but man, what a difference a year can make.

[Virgil_Hiltz]

Agree totally except that I don't see him as the face anymore

 

I just think I can now live with letting him go if it's the smart baseball decision.

 

If they can work.out a reasonable short term deal with him, then that's OK too.

 

I'd like to see him retire as a Jay too, but not if the price for that is 3-5 overpaid mediocre years.

 

Can't speak for everyone but any pain from letting any "Face of the Franchise" go has lessened a lot since Doc left the way he did.

[Brownie19]

It's Amazing how little loyalty the fans have these days considering how big of a part Bautista had in reviving the franchise

 

You would think people would want him to retire in a Jays uniform. Sports is not just about numbers its also about enjoying a journey.

 

It's easier to move on from Jose because he comes off as a massive dick.

[bronson44]

It's easier to move on from Jose because he comes off as a massive dick.

 

He seems like an intelligent, charitable, nice guy to me off the field. He plays the game with a lot of passion and anger which is hard for me to fault him for because I'm the same way when I play sports. There are a lot of dickheads in sports but I personally don't think Jose is one of them.