Blue Jays, Bautista agree to five-year extension

The Toronto Blue Jays and outfielder Jose Bautista have agreed to a five-year contract extension worth $64 million.

Bautista, who would have become a free agent after the 2011 season, is signed through 2015, but the Jays have a club option at $14 million for 2016.

“It came down to how far above [Braves second baseman Dan] Uggla we’d be,” [Blue Jays general manager Alex] Anthopoulos said, per The Toronto Star. “We felt Dan Uggla was a focal point, but it took time to work things out. The consistency of Uggla speaks for itself. The upside of Jose’s season is that Uggla never had a season like that.”

Last year, Bautista led the majors with 54 home runs and finished third in the American League in runs batted in with 124. Before 2010, Bautista never hit more than 16 home runs in a season (2006).