Jose Bautista 'disappointed' Blue Jays didn't make deadline move

Toronto Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista is not impressed with his team's decision to stand pat at the non-waiver trade deadline.

"I'm a little disappointed," Bautista told Rogers Sportsnet's Barry Davis. "Other teams find a way to improve."

The Blue Jays are right in the thick of things in the American League East and the wild-card hunt heading into action Thursday, but watched the Baltimore Orioles (Andrew Miller) and New York Yankees (Stephen Drew, Martin Prado) add key players for the stretch run.

Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos justified his decision to stand pat because value was an issue with the potential deals he discussed.

It just came down to not lining up on value. I know a lot has been made about payroll things and things like that. I can't stress this enough, especially with the trade deadline: Our payroll is the highest it's every been in the history of the organization. It's gone up from last year, I believe over 12 percent at this point. We absolutely had the financial resources to add at this trade deadline.

Bautista and the Blue Jays are expecting to get Edwin Encarnacion, Adam Lind and Brett Lawrie back from injuries shortly, which should provide the team with an added boost for a playoff run. If not, Anthopoulos isn't opposed to making a move in August.