Blue Jays rumours: Latest on Bautista and Encarnacion talks

With no traction between the Blue Jays and Jose Bautista or Edwin Encarnacion, the contract storyline is set to stretch across the summer months

Thanks to Aaron Sanchez and a flurry of roster moves made by the Blue Jays as spring training winds down, the story of the offseason has taken a quick breather.

With the dust settling, though, we’re back to start.

Jose Bautista’s contract situation has taken a calmer path since the early-spring fireworks. This is certainly preferable from the organization’s standpoint, and beyond the report that the Blue Jays would be more comfortable with Yoenis Cespedes type money, all has been quiet on the Bautista front this week.

On Wednesday, Jon Heyman of the MLB Network tweeted that Bautista may be willing to meet the Blue Jays in the middle. At least in regards to the term of the contract.

The Cespedes deal, as a point of comparison, pays out $75 million over three seasons for an average annual value of $25 million.

Step one is determining how much stock you’re willing to put into any report surrounding the Bautista negotiations, especially given how wide-ranging these many reports have been and that the two sides seem to be in no rush to hammer out a deal. If you’re buying these numbers, then would four years and $120 million be more within the organization’s comfort zone?

I think not, and I still hesitate to see the team being comfortable even with a guaranteed fourth year on the deal, but any movement here should be seen as good movement.

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On the Edwin Encarnacion front, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet reports that there are no negotiations scheduled between the Blue Jays and their designated hitter.

With Encarnacion’s self-imposed deadline of the end of spring training just a few days away, it seems as if the window is about to close on this situation until after the season. Encarnacion has clearly expressed his opinion on negotiating in-season, but general manager Ross Atkins has also said that he prefers to avoid contract talks during the year.