Jose Bautista contract rumours: Now it’s just getting bizarre

Reports Wednesday indicate that Jose Bautista‘s contract request exceeds the 5-year, $150+ million value in both term and total money

Buckle up, Blue Jays fans. The pending contract situation between Toronto and Jose Bautista is only getting stranger.

A day after TSN’s Rick Westhead reported that Bautista and his advisors were seeking a five-year deal worth north of $30 million per season, we get this report from Jon Heyman. If you can believe it, Bautista is reportedly asking for more in terms of years and total money. 


Building on that, Ken Rosenthal has heard the same in terms of total value but reports that the average annual value on the deal would be below $30 million annually. 


For the sake of framing the conversation, let’s call the average annual value $28 million. On a six-year deal that equals $168 million, and the numbers can wiggle from there on.

These numbers have passed by being “reasonable” for the Toronto Blue Jays, hit the gas, hopped a train, and left town.

That is, of course, if you want to take these numbers as the gospel.

Speaking now in more general terms, it can be beneficial for either side of the negotiation to put inflated contract numbers out to the media.

From the organization’s side, it can pressure the player through fan and industry perception. From the player’s side, it can put the spotlight on the Blue Jays with fans clamouring to have their bat-flip hero paid.

At this point, the safest route to an enjoyable and stress-free spring is to view any coming reports on financials with a grain of salt. Perhaps several.