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Bautista admits he 'could have handled things differently' last season

Butch Dill / USA TODAY Sports

Jose Bautista knows his no-nonsense approach to contract negotiations last season may have cost him in the long run.

The Toronto Blue Jays outfielder made headlines in spring training last year when he nonchalantly stated he wouldn't negotiate his contract demands in his final contract year, adding that he had given the team his number and didn't believe in "hometown discounts."

That number - reportedly said to be more than $150 million - ultimately never came to fruition for the 36-year-old, who eventually settled on a return to Toronto in January on a one-year, $18-million contract.

“I think in retrospect - I believe I can speak for myself and not for them - but I feel like I definitely could have handled things differently and maybe things would have played out different," Bautista told reporters Sunday at camp, according to Sportsnet's Shi Davidi. "What's happened has happened. There's no way to change that now. But ultimately I'm still here. This is where I want to be.

"I'm hoping to contend for another playoff spot this year, which is with the group of guys that I want to be playing with right now."

Bautista's negotiating power took a hit thanks to two separate injuries to his toe and knee that sent him to the disabled list twice and derailed his contract year. In 116 games - his lowest total since the 2012 season - Bautista finished with a .234/.366/.452 slash line and just 22 home runs, a shade over half of his tally of 40 a season prior.

But despite his negotiating tactics not working out, the outfielder admits his concern isn't with exactly what he said, but more so how he said it.

"Not necessarily changing the things that I said, maybe voicing them in a different setting and in a different way that might not get misconstrued and misunderstood the way that they did,” he said.

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