Jose Bautista Is Asking for Way More than He’s Worth, and We Completely Respect It
Reports trickled out a few days ago that Blue Jays GOAT Jose Bautista will not only refuse to give a hometown discount, he won’t even negotiate his next contract. He gave the Blue Jays front office the number it’ll take to resign him, and that was that.
Two weeks ago Jose Bautista told the Blue Jays front office the dollar amount and term is would take to re-sign him. Hasn't heard back since
— Arden Zwelling (@ArdenZwelling) February 22, 2016
The Blue Jays attempted to negotiate with Bautista's terms but he told them not to waste their time
— Arden Zwelling (@ArdenZwelling) February 22, 2016
That number was reportedly $150 million over five years. A fee the blogosphere resoundingly dismissed as absolutely crazy. Well, according to the always-reliable Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, Jose wants even more.
Bautista reported ask of $150M, 5 yrs is indeed not exactly accurate, as Joey Bats said. At least years and total $ r MORE.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 24, 2016
That would put his contract’s average annual value north of $30 million a year, right alongside Miguel Cabrera, baseball’s highest-paid position player.
You might think he’s a diva, but you’d be wrong.
Is Jose Bautista worth this much money? Absolutely not. Is he crazy to even ask for it? Absolutely not.
See, this is what Jose Bautista is about. This is the swagger and confidence that turned him into one of the best and most fascinating players in baseball. You simply don’t get the Bat Flip without this kind of off-field braggadocio.
And, oh my god, how amazing was that Bat Flip?
If this is the beginning of the end — and it certainly seems that way — then so be it. Jose came from nowhere to carry this team to an AL East division pennant. He helped to not only make baseball relevant in Toronto again, but make Toronto relevant to baseball.
So you do you, Jose. Whatever you choose to do, we’ll stand behind you.
