Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman welcomes Jose Bautista back

Amid reports of a reunion between Jose Bautista and the Toronto Blue Jays, one of Bautista’s past and future teammates is buying in.

Outfielder Jose Bautista has lingered on the free agent market longer than expected, but rumors of interested teams have been fairly constant. Most recently the Toronto Blue Jays have been reported to be circling back toward Bautista, and Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com reported Sunday night about a looming reunion.

Bautista and the Blue Jays are apparently very close to reaching a deal. Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports has reported discussions on a two-year deal in the $35-40 million range for the 36-year old slugger.

Something official between the Blue Jays and Bautista may come as soon as some time on Monday, or no later than some point this week. But one of Bautista’s teammates is clearly fully on board already.

Blue Jays starter Marcus Stroman took to Twitter Monday morning to welcome Bautista back to the team. Some trade rumors have surrounded Stroman this offseason, with the Colorado Rockies reportedly interested a little over a month ago. But barring something unforeseen, he should be back holding down a spot in Toronto’s rotation heading into the new season.

Next: MLB 2017: Top 10 starting pitchers

Stroman, due to his apparent close friendship with Bautista, appears to be using his personal knowledge to piggy-back on the information already offered by reporters. Using social media to go public is a bit preemptive, which could leave Stroman looking foolish if something changes between the Blue Jays and Bautista. But’s the world we live in, and athletes are clearly not immune to it due to the place they occupy with fans.