Blue Jays GM Atkins confirms slugger Bautista not coming back in 2018
TORONTO — The Blue Jays won’t be picking up the mutual option on Jose Bautista’s contract for 2018, but GM Ross Atkins wouldn’t rule out the possibility of the all-star slugger returning to Toronto in the future.
Atkins, in a season-ending media availability at Rogers Centre on Tuesday, said he sat down with Bautista a couple of weeks ago to tell him the option on the contract he signed before the 2017 season would not be picked up.
But while the team won’t be bringing back the 36-year-old right-fielder right now — a move long expected after Bautista struggled through 2017 — Atkins said he was moved by the outpouring of fan support showered on Bautista during his final home game, and that moment will not be the last time he’s celebrated in Toronto.
“Jose’s career, it’s remarkable, and the last home game of the season speaks to what he’s meant to this city and this organization,” Atkins said.