Toronto Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista will be a free agent at season's end, but that doesn't mean he's a lock to leave town.

Bautista spoke to Sports Illustrated's Tom Verducci in a recent interview and said he would be "stupid" to leave the Blue Jays for another team.

“I love the city,” he said. "I’d be stupid to leave.”

The 35-year-old, who's in the final year of a six-year, $78 million contract, was seeking a five-year, $150 million contract back in spring training, according to TSN Senior Correspondent Rick Westhead. Bautista would later deny that report and said he is not willing to negotiate a new deal during the season.

Bautista confirmed his sentiment from March that he is not interested in taking a hometown discount to stay with the Jays.

“I will explore every single option, whether it happens or not with the new regime, to continue to try to stay here," he told Verducci. "That being said, I think teams utilize that a lot against players, [seeking] a discount or bargain price, and I think that’s extremely unfair, especially to have your biggest contributors on the field and try to take advantage of the fact that they like it there and negotiate a tougher deal.”

The native of Dominican Republic is hitting .237 with 11 home runs and 37 RBIs over 52 games in 2016, his ninth season in Toronto.