Since his breakout, 54-homer season in 2010, these have been Jose Bautista’s Blue Jays. At the same time, over the past four seasons, since the Jays decided to go for it all in 2013 (and failed), there has been a wildly profitable renaissance of their brand.

With that in mind, Rogers ownership cannot afford to take even one step backward. And losing Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion in the same off-season would seem to be that giant step backward. This is a work in progress.

The exciting new wave of Jays fans is dominated by professional men and women in their 20s and 30s who have their own memories and favourite players. This energizing wave of millennial fans treasures its own iconic “touch ’em all” moments. Those include Encarnacion’s wild-card walk-off homer against the Orioles in October, Josh Donaldson’s game-winning dash from second to home in the 2016 American League division series and, most especially, the Bautista bat-flip blast in the 2015 ALDS.

Those three mental snapshots personify the recent success of the Jays. But of that trio of new-wave poster boys, only Donaldson remains. Encarnacion is gone, while Bautista is available, but stashed in free-agent limbo. Why not sign him?

With time and the lack of reported interest from other teams in its favour, Rogers has demonstrated no desire to bring Bautista back on board, despite the club’s obvious needs at the outfield corners. They found out by accident, after the trade deadline in 2015, that it’s very possible to spend money to make money in pro sports. Now Rogers has Bautista right where they want him, but they don’t want him.

“I have the same question, Jose has the same question,” Jay Alou, Bautista’s agent, said from the Dominican Republic on Tuesday. “He, more than anybody, is a little confused on how things have gone. It’s clear that he loves the place. He absolutely wants to be there, as opposed to a lot of players that there’s hurdles being over there, going to Toronto, going through immigration, the (stadium) turf, all that. Jose really likes it. He likes everything about the city. He loves the fans.”

“It is almost the perfect fit. They need some corner guys. He is the guy that (fans love). Edwin (leaving) should have never happened. They should have got together with both players in the same room and said, ‘This is what we want. This is what we have (money-wise). We’re going to keep you guys, at least for the next couple of years.’ And (I believe) they would have definitely stayed.”

That may be an oversimplification by Alou, who has a vested interest in his client landing a contract, but the fact is that the Jays don’t seem to have any issues with being penalized by the luxury tax under the new CBA and they certainly don’t have any issue in feeling under-funded in any way with the deep-pocketed Rogers.

The reality is the Jays have not made any offer to the 36-year-old Bautista since he refused the $17.2 million qualifying offer in November. He remains an option down the road, according to GM Ross Atkins. The perception of why this may have all happened is that ownership’s back stiffened when Joey Bats sat down in a room during the NBA all-star weekend and laid out demands for a contract, an amount reported but never confirmed as an outrageous five years and $150 million. The Jays’ incoming brass, president Mark Shapiro and Atkins, perhaps took the numbers literally and negotiations never begun. Face it, Bautista is not warm and fuzzy.

“Saying what he wants or a set figure, that was never the case,” Alou said. “(Jose’s) question is, what is (the Jays) plan? ‘I want to be part of it and I want to help build something.’ That just disappeared. Is the plan to rebuild? Is the plan to try and win the next three years, four? How are we going to do this? What are the missing pieces? He’s a leader. He wanted to be engaged and what is the plan?”

There is a feeling that maybe both the players’ union and ownership misread the marketplace and that mistakes have been made on both sides.

“It’s timing, it’s not a miscalculation,” the agent said. “Edwin holds on another month and he gets more money, but he went to a very good team that went to the World Series. I’m happy for him. It’s definitely not over.

“I forget what date . . . Prince Fielder got a nine-year deal and that was very late. There are deals that are done in February, even March. Ideally families want to know where they’re going to be going and all that.

“But in Jose’s case, he’s working and that’s what he’s always done, work harder than most. He had injuries last season, but that had nothing to do with lack of preparation. They had nothing to do with Jose’s age. I could name a couple of much younger right fielders that got hurt. (Giancarlo) Stanton’s got the biggest contract right now and his numbers were almost the same as Jose’s.

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“They keep saying about Jose’s age. Jose came into playing at 29 and he could probably play until he’s 45. I’ve known the guy since he was 17. I know how much effort he puts into working out. He takes care of himself. He eats the right things. It’s his body. He knows that’s where his income comes from. He takes care of it.”

The Jays may, in fact, know what they’re doing. There may be a trade in the works to land an outfielder with impact. But if the Jays head into the next season with the current 40-man roster, you’re looking, at best, at a third-place team in the AL East. And the Jays can’t afford to take even one step back.

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