Blue Jays: Does Jose Bautista have anything left in the tank?

Earlier yesterday there were reports that former Toronto Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista was contemplating retirement, those reports were quickly rebutted by Bautista himself, however, the question begs to be asked does Joey Bats have another season left in the proverbial tank?

Jon Heyman of Fan Rag Sports initially reported that Jose Bautista could possibly consider retirement after the way the offseason has transpired however that speculation was soon quelled by Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports.

Passan spoke to the slugger himself who had this to say in regards to the retirement rumours.

"“Right now I’m just considering my options, and it depends on two criteria,” Bautista said in a phone conversation. “That’s winning and making sure that my family’s in a good situation.”"

The Bautista market has been fairly quiet this offseason aside from rumblings that the Tampa Bay Rays and or Miami Marlins may be a fit for the aging outfielder. Unfortunately, neither of those teams are in a position to contend in 2018, something that presumably would rank high on Bautista’s criteria in order to sign.

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Bautista is fresh off a campaign where he compiled a career-low -1.7 WAR and set a Blue Jays franchise record for the most strikeouts in a season, whiffing a career-high 170 times in 686 plate appearances last season with Toronto.

If Bautista has taught us anything over the years, it is not to bet against the slugger however it seems like Joey Bats and Father Time are currently engaged in a staring contest to see who blinks first.

There is no questioning that Bautista could be a welcome addition to a number of AL teams if he were willing to occupy the DH spot and focus on hitting for the 2018 campaign. There is no telling if the always proud Bautista would consider such an option even though it would be in his best interest moving forward.

The 37-year old has 331 home runs under his belt including 288 of those as a member of the Blue Jays. Bautista no doubt is motivated to add to that impressive total, the question is will he find an offer that meets his demands,

Next: Blue Jays: Spring Training News and Notes

Time will tell if Bautista still has some thunder left in his bat, however, I wouldn’t bet against him.