Blue Jays salvage offseason with Bautista signing

Once again, Jose Bautista has saved the Toronto Blue Jays.

Toronto was on the verge of completing one of its most disappointing offseasons in years before Tuesday, when Bautista reportedly agreed to a one-year, $18-million contract that will keep him in the city he's called home for the last nine years. For many, this is an outcome that will be seen as surprising given all that happened in the months leading up to this contract.

While he still must pass his physical for all this to become official, the mere presence of Bautista makes the Blue Jays a better team than they were just a few days ago. Here are three reasons why signing Bautista has salvaged an offseason that was once going off the rails.

A lineup restored

Toronto's lineup lost quite a bit of its punch when Edwin Encarnacion departed for Cleveland last month, and his production is going to be very hard to replace. Encarnacion was also a very popular member of the Blue Jays, and his exit - for a contract that was less than what the Blue Jays offered him, months after they signed his replacement in Kendrys Morales - created a fair bit of angst across Canada.

But Bautista's return not only helps mitigate that damage, but he instantly restores credibility to what's still a very dangerous lineup. After all, Josh Donaldson's still hitting out of the No. 2 hole, and Troy Tulowitzki remains a dangerous proposition for opposing pitchers. Morales will now hit behind Bautista, and while he's certainly not Encarnacion, the switch-hitter brings many positives to the table. Hitting behind Bautista means Morales could see better pitches to hit, increasing his production; he'll also benefit from moving out of spacious Kauffman Stadium and into the home-run hitter's heaven known as Rogers Centre - the same ballpark that helped both Bautista and Encarnacion emerge as superstars.

The Blue Jays still have work to do in many areas, but Bautista's return reignites their feared lineup - and when that lineup is combined with their awesome pitching staff, it ensures the Blue Jays are still the second-best team in the American League East, and will still be contenders for the next few years.

Offseason vision is clearer

Of course, Bautista's return doesn't disguise the holes still remaining on the Blue Jays' roster. Some more bullpen depth - specifically, a southpaw to replace Brett Cecil - is sorely needed, as is a backup catcher and potentially one more outfielder.

That extra outfielder could be important. Bautista didn't have a bad season in 2016, but he certainly wasn't his All-Star self, in part thanks to injuries. Is a bounce-back in the cards? It's very possible. But he's 36 years old, his arm in right field isn't what it used to be, and as of now he'd be holding down one corner outfield slot while some combination of Melvin Upton Jr., Ezequiel Carrera, and Steve Pearce would grab the other (there's also potential for Bautista to play some first base and even DH on occasion). That Upton-Carrera platoon is less than ideal, and they could stand to add one more bat. They've tried to fill it, having chased both Dexter Fowler and Michael Saunders, but missed on both free agents. Possibilities to fill that extra slot remain, but the only question is whether or not they have the money to grab one more outfielder along with relief help and a catcher.

Bautista's deal will ultimately help answer these questions. Now the Blue Jays know how much money they have left for the rest of the season, they presumably know who's still available and interested in joining their team, and they can begin to spend accordingly through either trade or free agency and fill all of these remaining holes quickly.

Lasting legacies

This may seem silly, but in the grand scheme of things the legacy factor is a huge deal for everyone involved.

After watching the Blue Jays jump early on Morales and effectively take themselves out of the Encarnacion derby - only to see Encarnacion walk to Cleveland for less than what the Blue Jays offered him - many fans were quick to lash out at president Mark Shapiro and general manager Ross Atkins. Encarnacion, like Bautista, was more than just a staple of the lineup to fans: He was a legacy player who built his resume in Toronto, and it was painful for many to see him leave while the club appeared to stand idly by.

If Encarnacion was the Blue Jays' "Manny Ramirez" - without the crazy behavior, of course - then Bautista is Canada's "David Ortiz," because his impact on the franchise has been seismic. After arriving in 2008 to little fanfare just four years after he was property of five teams in one season, he broke out to become a dangerous superstar slugger reviled by other teams and opposing fans. He is the face of the franchise who led the Blue Jays back to the playoffs after a 22-year absence - and once in October, he secured his place in franchise lore with the flip of a bat. He's at or near the top of virtually every offensive category in franchise history, and will someday see his name on Rogers Centre's "Level of Excellence."

Related: Bautista's top 5 Blue Jays moments

Shapiro and Atkins took a lot of heat from fans by letting Encarnacion walk, just as they did when 2015 deadline acquisition David Price bolted to Boston last year. Re-signing Bautista will undoubtedly help the executives repair their images with a fan base that's grown increasingly antsy over the winter, as it shows their desire to extend this window of contention. For Bautista, he returns to the city and country that loves him almost unconditionally, and it even sets up the possibility of his retiring a Blue Jay. Both sides will come out of this having done wonders for their images in the world of fan opinion - and sometimes, that can be the biggest win of all.