Donaldson: No recent extension talks with Blue Jays 'to my knowledge'

Josh Donaldson wants to keep playing north of the border beyond 2018. Whether the Toronto Blue Jays will make that happen remains anyone's guess.

The former MVP will draw a handsome salary this year, having avoided arbitration with the Blue Jays by signing a record $23-million deal last week. Still, questions about his long-term future in Toronto remain a hot topic since he's set to become a free agent at season's end, and Donaldson added a little more fuel to the fire Saturday when he revealed that the sides haven't had recent talks about a longer-term deal.

"Not to my knowledge, there hasn't been (any extension talks)," Donaldson told theScore's Jonah Birenbaum at the Blue Jays' Winter Fest.

Donaldson emerged as a superstar almost immediately after joining the Blue Jays three-plus years ago, leading them to consecutive ALCS appearances in 2015 and '16 that snapped a 22-year postseason drought for the franchise.

Related: Blue Jays GM 'can't imagine our team being better without Josh Donaldson'

While the discussions that led to his record arbitration settlement didn't yield a long-term deal, the 32-year-old reiterated Saturday that he'd like to stay in Toronto - if the Blue Jays will have him.

"I've said I've wanted to be here. That's pretty much all I can say. I'm not the one that makes the decisions, nor would I try to put them in that position to do that," Donaldson said.

" I believe the situation will become more fluid when the time is right. The time hasn't been right, to this moment, to my knowledge. But we were able to accomplish what was ultimately needed to be accomplished at the moment. And I'm happy about it. I'm sure that they're happy about it. And we're just going to continue to move forward."