Essentially, the Braves are taking a risk-free chance on Bautista, who signed a Minor League deal on Wednesday with the understanding he will only play third base as he attempts to make his way to the Major League level. A source told MLB.com's Mark Feinsand that Bautista will earn $1 million if he reaches the bigs. He'll spend time at the team's Spring Training facility before being assigned to a Minor League affiliate.
ATLANTA -- Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos saw Jose Bautista become one of baseball's top power hitters while they were together in Toronto. Now, he's going to give the veteran slugger a chance to extend his career by proving he can play third base.
ATLANTA -- Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos saw Jose Bautista become one of baseball's top power hitters while they were together in Toronto. Now, he's going to give the veteran slugger a chance to extend his career by proving he can play third base.
Essentially, the Braves are taking a risk-free chance on Bautista, who signed a Minor League deal on Wednesday with the understanding he will only play third base as he attempts to make his way to the Major League level. A source told MLB.com's Mark Feinsand that Bautista will earn $1 million if he reaches the bigs. He'll spend time at the team's Spring Training facility before being assigned to a Minor League affiliate.
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Bautista served as the Pirates' primary third baseman in 2007, and he occasionally played the position with the Blue Jays from 2009-11. The six-time All-Star and two-time American League Hank Aaron Award winner made four starts as Toronto's third baseman last year, but he has spent most of the past serving as an outfielder.
Video: TOR@BAL: Bautista starts at third, turns double play
The Braves have received better-than-expected results, as Ryan Flaherty has manned third base and Johan Camargo could see time at the hot corner once he is activated from the disabled list, possibly within the next few days.
But in an attempt to add power and some potential protection for Freddie Freeman, the Braves are going to provide this opportunity to Bautista, who has hit at least 20 homers each of the past eight seasons. The 37-year-old veteran altered the course of his career when he hit a Major League-high 54 home runs in 2010, which was Anthopoulos' first season as the Blue Jays GM.
Bautista hit .228 and averaged 28 homers per season over the past three years. He hit just .203 with 23 homers and a .674 OPS last year with Toronto.
Photo: Tom Szczerbowski (Getty)
Poor José Bautista. The former Blue Jays slugger had six straight All-Star campaigns for the Jays and banged out one of the most iconic playoff home runs of the decade. But instead of settling into the second or third year of one last long-term contract, the 37-year-old has wound up in the Braves’ infield.
Bautista almost certainly landed on the Braves because GM Alex Anthopoulos ran the Blue Jays throughout Bautista’s heyday. After outplaying a six-year, $78 million deal, Bautista rightly wanted to end his career with a lucrative extension ahead of the 2016 season. The Jays wouldn’t meet his asking price of five years and $150 million, and Bautista refused to budge. Unfortunately, the bottom fell out for Bautista in 2016, and he returned to the Jays on a one-year, $18 million deal last season that neither side was happy with. After another year in steep decline, Bautista was unable to secure a major-league deal for the 2018 season.
Per MLB.com, Bautista will earn $1 million if he reaches the big-league club. Bautista began his career playing third base, though he’s logged just 12 games there since the 2012 season. Atlanta is off to a pleasant 9-7 start, and incumbent third baseman Ryan Flaherty is hitting .354. It’s unlikely that Bautista will dislodge Flaherty, but he could definitely hit a few dingers for the Braves if he works his way into the lineup.
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Jose Bautista hit a career-low .203 with 23 home runs in 157 games last season. (Photo: Troy Taormina, USA TODAY Sports)
Jose Bautista has found a home after sitting out spring training.
Bautista, 37, agreed to a one-year, minor-league deal with the Braves and has reported to Atlanta’s extended spring training complex in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., the club announced on Wednesday.
The Braves say he will play third base -- a position he hasn't played full time since 2008 with the Pittsburgh Pirates -- and not the outfield, where he has played most since 2009.
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Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos was in Toronto when Bautista became a perennial slugger and All-Star, hitting 288 home runs in 10 seasons. And with No. 1 prospect Ronald Acuna expected to fill out the outfield sometime later this season, Anthopoulos will give the veteran a shot at the hot corner.
Bautista led the American League in home runs in 2010 and 2011. He's one of three players, along with Nelson Cruz and Giancarlo Stanton, to slug at least 20 homers in eighth consecutive seasons since 2010.
Last season, he hit a career-low .203 with 23 home runs in 157 games before becoming a free agent.
If Bautista reaches the majors, he would be paid $1 million, according to Fan Rag Sports.
The Braves on Wednesday announced that they've signed veteran slugger Jose Bautista to a one-year minor-league contract. While Bautista, age 37, has worked as a primary corner outfielder for the last several years, he'll try his hand at third base for the Braves, starting at their extended spring training complex.
Bautista isn't a stranger to the position. He spent significant time at third base as recently as 2011, and for his career he's logged more than 3,000 defensive innings at the hot corner. That said, Bautista's at a rather advanced age to be making the move to a more demanding position afield.
As for the bat, Bautista's coming off a 2017 season in which he put up a disappointing 76 OPS+ in 157 games for the Blue Jays. That said, he was productive in 2016 and enjoyed a 40-homer season in 2015. For his career, Bautista owns an OPS+ of 124 across parts of 14 big-league seasons. Along the way, he's tallied 331 home runs.
It's far from certain whether Bautista has anything left to offer a major-league roster, but this is a low-risk proposition for the Braves. Ryan Flaherty is presently their primary third baseman (and No. 9 hitter in the order), so it's not as though the bar is set terribly high in Atlanta.
