Jose Bautista won’t negotiate with the Blue Jays anymore

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Jose Bautista is a free agent after 2016. He’s already spoken to the Blue Jays about a possible extension to avoid free agency, but from the sounds of it, it’s not necessarily a likely solution. Bautista gave the Blue Jays the number he expected, and then told the media that “there’s no negotiation.” As far as Bautista is concerned, the Jays already got a sweet deal the first time they extended him, so now it’s time for them to pay him what he wants and not a cent less.

It’s hard to be upset with him about this, given how we don’t know the precise dollars or years he told the Jays he wants, and the whole thing where he’s still awesome at the plate even though he’s 35. In 2015, Bautista hit .250/.377/.536 for a 149 OPS+ and led the American League in walks with 110. He has shown no signs of slowing down just yet, and while, say, a five-year extension is risky for someone his age, it would certainly pay off in the early part of the deal while the Jays’ core still includes Josh Donaldson and Troy Tulowitzki.

The fascinating thing, though, is going to be watching how the Jays react to this. Bautista’s terms are known to them, and if they don’t match them, it likely means the relationship between the two sides is over come November -- if Bautista has a poor 2016, then the Jays aren’t likely to rush to bring him back, and if he’s as good as ever or better, then it’s not like his price is going to drop. Between this and Edwin Encarnacion’s potential free agency, the Jays could look a whole lot different in a year. They better make 2016 count.