You're probably right. I just don't see him on Martin's level. Just above average at this point in his career from the little I've seen, admittedly.
Anyway, today Rogers' CEO son released a pretty heartfelt message about AA (I thought), which refuted that his role would've changed. I would imagine they wouldn't blatantly lie about such a thing, so I do believe the statement. So I think that narrows down to 3 things AA walked away from:
A) Principle for Rogers' handling of Beaston (the way they treated Beaston was a disaster).
B) Future money invested in the team (I find it hard to believe that Rogers has a long term budget so I don't think this would really be an issue).
C) In initial meetings with Shapiro, he was likely told he had to deal a player he had no interest in dealing for the sake of getting younger or something. That type of player who AA likely had a bond with was Bautista.
Pure speculation on my part, but I think it's more C than anything else. Rogers can be cheap, but I don't think budget cuts are in store. I don't see them breaking the bank either, so it comes down to AA not wanting to deal a player he probably likes.
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