Blue Jays never asked Jose Bautista to waive no-trade clause

The Toronto Blue Jays made two moves on deadline day shipping pitchers Francisco Liriano and Joe Smith to contenders for the playoff push, it came to light after the deadline that the Blue Jays never approached Jose Bautista about waiving his 10/5 no-trade clause.

General Manager Ross Atkins spoke to the media after the deadline passed advising he spoke to all 29 teams and had serious trade talks with 15 teams discussing over 600 players, however, nothing was close enough involving Jose Bautista to approach the slugger about his no-trade clause.

One stumbling block involving the right fielder may have been the current funk Bautista finds himself in. The 36-year old is currently riding a 16/99 streak over the past month which translates into a .162 batting average with only two home runs. For the season Bautista is slashing .215/.324/.385 with 16 round trippers in 105 games.

Ross Atkins says he kept Jose Bautista up on inquiries about him, but nothing developed to point of asking him to waive no trade. #BlueJays
— Shi Davidi (@ShiDavidi) July 31, 2017

Suffice it is to say the Blue Jays could still attempt to move Bautista in August however he will have to pass through waivers before the Jays can begin wheeling and dealing on a potential trade. The veteran has full veto power over any potential deal due to his 10/5 rights which he earned by accumulating 10 years of service time in the majors and 5 years with the same team consecutively. Bautista is the longest tenured Blue Jays player and has been with the team since 2008.