Perhaps Jose Bautista sounded the alarm in spring training when, not shockingly, reporters were told he would not offer the Toronto Blue Jays a hometown discount.
Toronto is not Bautista’s hometown. For the record, that’s Distrito Nacional, Dominican Republic. Nor has anyone purported him to be such a lover of Canadian bacon that he would take less money to remain a Blue Jay.
Baustista was a big part, but not near the sum, of the Blue Jays offense in 2015, MLB’s best. But for a Toronto fanbase jonesing for a perennial contender since the organization won back-to-back World Series titles in 1992-93, Bautista underscored an ugly reality.