THE RUMOR: The Nationals have inquired about Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista.
REPORTED BY: Barry Svrluga, The Washington Post
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THE DETAILS: Bautista, 35 will be a free agent at the end of the season, but the Blue Jays slugger hopes to stay with the club that took a chance on him in 2008. The two sides tabled extension talks that were rumored in the five-year, $150 million range.
It's also worth noting Bautista owns 10-and-5 rights, meaning he can veto any trade.
THIS SEASON: Bautista has battled a nagging turf toe injury that sidelined him for five weeks. He's batting .227/.361/.446 with 12 homers and 42 RBIs.
OUR TAKE: While the Nationals would welcome the slugger with open arms in the outfield over the struggling Ben Revere, with Bryce Harper moving to center field, Washington would have to overwhelm the Jays with at least two of their top three prospects: right-handers Reynaldo Lopez and Erick Fedde and outfielder Victor Robles.
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If the Blue Jays were out of the playoff picture, then there would be a plausible chance of this trade happening, but they need Bautista in the lineup. Toronto holds a half-game lead for the first AL wild-card spot and sit 2 1/2 games back of the Orioles in the AL East.
Bautista, who has hit above .300 only once in his career, is in the final year of a six-year, $78 million contract. We expect him to re-sign with the Blue Jays although many have speculated that he or teammate and fellow pending free agent Edwin Encarnacion would be sought-after replacements for designated hitter David Ortiz in Boston.