Bautista refutes report that he's considering retirement
Jose Bautista, the vaunted free-agent slugger who remains unemployed three weeks out from Opening Day, said Thursday he isn't thinking about calling it quits, refuting an earlier report that suggested he hasn't received any offers to his liking and is considering retirement.
Bautista, who turned 37 in October, added that he has guaranteed major-league offers on the table.
"Right now I'm just considering my options, and it depends on two criteria," Bautista told Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports. "That's winning and making sure that my family's in a good situation."
Bautista, an All-Star six times during his illustrious 10-year run with the Toronto Blue Jays, stumbled through a disappointing 2017 campaign, hitting .203/.308/.366 (80 wRC+) with 23 homers while accruing -0.5 WAR in 157 games.
| Season | WAR | OPS | wRC+ | HR | BB% | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 6.3 | .928 | 160 | 35 | 15.5% | 14.3% |
| 2015 | 4.5 | .913 | 148 | 40 | 16.5% | 15.9% |
| 2016 | 1.4 | .817 | 122 | 22 | 16.8% | 19.9% |
| 2017 | -0.5 | .674 | 80 | 23 | 12.2% | 24.8% |
He earned $18 million last year, and received a $500,000 buyout earlier this offseason when the Blue Jays declined their half of a $17-million mutual option for 2018.