Toronto Blue Jays: Time to move on from Jose Bautista approaching

The Toronto Blue Jays unexpectedly brought Jose Bautista back last winter. After a woeful season, they should not do the same again.

It’s been a rough year for Jose Bautista and the Toronto Blue Jays alike. Initially hoping for a hefty multi-year contract in free agency, the veteran outfielder had to settle for a one-year deal to remain in Toronto with a pair of mutual options. Bautista’s performance has continued to deteriorate, and with the Jays turning their gaze toward the future, it’s looking increasingly likely that Joey Bats is playing his final games in a Toronto uniform.

Bautista’s underwhelming 2016 raised plenty of red flags, causing most teams to balk at his asking price over the winter. Injuries limited him to 116 games in which he slashed .234/.366/.452 (118 OPS+) with 22 home runs and 69 RBI. That was a noticeable step down from the .268/.390/.555 (156 OPS+) he hit between 2010 and 2015 while averaging 38 homers and 97 RBI per season.

If there was a bright spot in Bautista’s otherwise mediocre numbers last year, it was that he still drew walks at a decent clip: 87 in 116 contests, helping fuel a respectable .366 on-base percentage.

Unfortunately, the 14-year vet doesn’t even have that going for him in 2017. Bautista’s OBP has plummeted to .314 as part of a lowly .207/.314/.375 slash line. He’s contributed 22 long balls and driven in 60 runs in 145 games, not nearly enough production from a premier bat in the lineup. His 80 OPS+ would be his lowest since his 2004 debut season.

Yes, this year’s Bautista has looked even worse than the pre-Toronto, pre-breakout version that bounced around between four other organizations before finding a home with the Blue Jays.

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Needless to say, the $18 million the Jays are paying Bautista this season will go down as a poor investment. If both sides agree, his deal can be renewed for 2018 at a salary of $17 million. It would be a genuine shock if Toronto doesn’t elect for the $500,000 buyout instead, cutting ties with the six-time All-Star.

It would be tough to let go after the many highlights Bautista provided to the Jays both before and during their recent playoff runs. But bringing him back at any price would be pure sentiment more than anything else. As Rob Longley of the Toronto Sun observes, Bautista has already solidified his place among the Jays’ all-time greats. He’s second in franchise history in home runs (287), third in RBI (761) and third in OPS (.882).

But Toronto currently sports a 70-80 record and has watched any chance at a Wild Card berth fizzle. The club hopes to rebound and compete again quickly, but overall the future is looking rather murky. What is clear, however, is that it makes little sense to continue devoting time and money to a soon-to-be 37-year-old player who simply doesn’t bring much to the table anymore.

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Will some other team take a cheap, one-year flyer on Bautista this offseason in hopes he might miraculously rediscover some of that old magic? Probably, but for their own good the Blue Jays should not be that club.