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MLB Rumors: Cardinals last laugh on Flaherty, Chris Sale return, Bautista a Blue Jays icon

ByMark Powell|
Jack Flaherty, St. Louis Cardinals. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)
Jack Flaherty, St. Louis Cardinals. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)
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TORONTO, ON – SEPTEMBER 23: Jose Bautista #19 of the Toronto Blue Jays stands during the playing of the national anthems before the start of MLB game action against the New York Yankees at Rogers Centre on September 23, 2017 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON – SEPTEMBER 23: Jose Bautista #19 of the Toronto Blue Jays stands during the playing of the national anthems before the start of MLB game action against the New York Yankees at Rogers Centre on September 23, 2017 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)

MLB Rumors: Jose Bautista to retire with Blue Jays

Joey Bats will sign a one-day contract with Toronto on Friday to retire as a member of the Blue Jays. While Jose Bautista played for eight teams in his MLB career, he’ll be best remembered for his time north of the border, when he was a tremendous power threat for a Jays team which revitalized baseball in Canada.

Bautista represented the Blue Jays in the All-Star Game from 2010-15, which included three 40-plus home run seasons, as well as his 54-home run 2010 campaign, where he finished fourth in MVP voting.

“There aren’t many names as synonymous with Blue Jays baseball as José Bautista, and it is our great honour that he will officially retire in a Blue Jays jersey,” said Mark Shapiro, President & CEO, Toronto Blue Jays. “On behalf of a generation of Blue Jays fans that had the privilege of watching his clutch moments on the field and inspiring work ethic – thank you, José, for a mesmerizing decade representing the Toronto Blue Jays.”

Bautista’s most memorable moment as a Blue Jay was this bit of postseason heroics, which sent the Rogers Centre into complete chaos.

“The stadium was vibrating,” former teammate Josh Donaldson remembered, per The Athletic. “It was probably one of the coolest moments I’ve been on the field to where it was so loud that it felt quiet.”

The Jays would win that dramatic Game 5 of the 2015 ALDS, and Bautista’s bat flip would go down in MLB lore as one of the more emphatic celebrations in recent memory.

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