MARCH 26,11:17am: The Rays are “unlikely” to sign Bautista, according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.
10:28am: The Braves are no longer in the mix for Bautista, tweets FanRag’s Jon Heyman, who adds that it’s unclear if the Rays are still interested in him.
MARCH 25: Jose Bautista continues to discuss one-year contracts with multiple teams, ESPN.com’s Marly Rivera reports (Twitter link), with the Braves and Rays among the teams in talks with the veteran outfielder. When last we checked in on Bautista’s market, he said he was considering several Major League offers, focusing on finding a good fit for his family and playing for a winning team as his primary criteria.
Neither the Rays or Braves seem like obvious contenders in 2018, with Atlanta still in (perhaps the final stages of) a rebuild and Tampa Bay shuffling the roster this winter to save money while still hoping to remain competitive in the AL East. Both teams could be better fits from a personal standpoint, however. Bautista lives in the Tampa area, and he has expressed interest in joining the club both this offseason and last winter during his previous trip through the free agent market. Playing in Atlanta would also keep Bautista relatively close to home, plus he and Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos have a longstanding connection from their time together with the Blue Jays.
Bautista would fit the Rays’ desire to add a right-handed hitting outfielder, though Bautista’s right field defense has been below-average for the last three seasons. He could also provide a platoon partner for Brad Miller at DH or first base, and perhaps even take the odd appearance at third base in a pinch.
There isn’t such an obvious path to playing time for Bautista on the Braves’ roster, and it could be that the team’s signing of Peter Bourjos to an MLB contract earlier today could have closed the door on Bautista’s chances with Atlanta. Bourjos and Bautista offer almost entirely different skillsets, of course, though the Braves now have Bourjos, Lane Adams, and Preston Tucker in the left field mix alongside regular center fielder Ender Inciarte and right fielder Nick Markakis. Elite prospect Ronald Acuna is also expected to be promoted possibly as early as mid-April (i.e. when the Braves can be sure of gaining an extra year of control on his services), leaving even less room in the outfield. Freddie Freeman obviously has first base spoken for, plus the Braves don’t have a DH spot to offer.
It remains to be seen if Bautista has anything to offer in even a semi-regular role, given his sub-replacement level numbers in 2017. Bautista hit just .203/.308/.366 over 686 plate appearances for the Blue Jays, and between that ugly performance and his already-declining numbers in 2016, it would be rather surprising to see Bautista rebound to anything close to his old form as he enters his age-37 season. That said, given Bautista’s excellent track record prior to 2016, one can also understand why teams would consider taking an inexpensive, one-year flier to see if he has something left in the tank.
“$30 million a season please!!”
Never forget
You should because that wasn’t an accurate report
He was an arrogant jerk prior to his free agency re said free agency. Pity for him does not abound.
Ya pity for him because he’s still a rich man!
Fierce competitor = Arrogant jerk. Got it. Thanks for the tip, Texas!
well, that is just not true
How was it inaccurate? Because you didn’t like it?
While he did state that negotiations shouldn’t be needed, which he later regretted saying, but the $150 million demand wasn’t ever confirmed as even Bautista quoted saying that it was inaccurate.
Eddie, Bautista said the number floated out there wasn’t true and I’m pretty sure the team confirmed it
You’re right. He was asking for MORE than 150. Here’s the MLBTR report from 2016. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2016/02/jose-bautista-150-million-blue-jays.html
Yes. See above. The number was apparently higher than 150. His behaviour was a joke. Too good to negotiate. The other thing that was a joke was the morons on the internet blaming the club and the owner for not giving into the clown.
No Paul, what he said was “I’m not willing to negotiate”. Exact words. Here’s the interview. https://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/bautista-hometown-discount-doesnt-exist-given-jays-5-year-discount/
For five years. And no negotiations either! Jose wasn’t about to niggle and bicker about a few thousand here or there, that was beneath him. And if the Blue Jays didn’t sign him for 5×30? There were morons getting arrested for threatening online to burn Rogers service trucks and tear down a statue of the guy who saved baseball in Toronto. Jose wasn’t stupid, but there are a lot of stupid people who were heard from.
Someone needs a bat flipper.. if they get desperate
Have to believe the Braves are out on him. Wish him the best wherever he goes.
Not me. I hope he gets booed from his home team fans after he sucks for them.
Excellent teammate. Mentor to young bats. Hardcore competitor..Class Act.
None of that is true.
Yah, he was an excellent teammate to Ryan Goins when he blamed Goins on TV for a play Bautista didnt make. Never saw anyone else so selfish as to do that publicly.
Eddie, I still can’t believe that happened. Outfielders ball, 100%, should have called off Goins. Disgraceful.
Right, and Brett Lawrie was the Gandhi of Major League Baseball.
All of it is bang on. Ask anyone who ever played with the guy. Unless you were on the opposite side of watching him crush baseballs he was an absolute hero.
What an overwhelming mountain of evidence you posses. A bad day on the field and a few bat flips that made you cry. Are you from Baltimore or suburban Dallas?
It wasn’t the play itself I was commenting on, anyone can make a mistake in the field, either him or Goins. But Bautista went on TV immediately after and blamed Goins. Truly unbelievable. Some ideal teammate!
You’re making this up. Goins made a mistake. He said as much. Jose said as much. Regardless, where is the lengthy list of transgressions against his teammates? There isn’t one. The bad teammate narrative is a figment of your imagination.
Eddie’s got it right, Bautista threw Goins under the bus. 100% the outfielders ball – basic baseball. It was Goins being the good teammate by taking Bautista’s nonsense for the sake of the team.
Braves need power though.
Not if it means wasting a roster spot on Bautista. I might could understand interest if the Braves could plug him in cheaply at DH, but the national league still plays real baseball.
real = boring in this case.
Great strategy having to pull a pitcher who’s dealing in the 6th, 7th or 8th inning only to put a mediocre pinch hitter in.
And watching a nearly automatic out when a pitcher does get to hit is pathetic.
Fans of NL want nothing to do with DH.
Fans of AL want nothing to do with pitchers, near-automatic outs, I.E “strategy”
Here’s an excellent piece, on the topic, researched: “The hidden reason the DH rule hurts the NL”
It’s worth a read unless you don’t want to completely change how you view the DH.
http://www.espn.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/84900/how-this-offseasons-biggest-moves-highlight-another-way-not-having-dh-hurts-nl
Bautista is one dimensional and last year he was less than that. He needs the AL, he’d never make the grade in the NL. If Tampa has space for a part time DH, that’s probably where he’ll end up.
I’m a hater of ESPN, on these boards, as much as anybody. Unlike others here, I believe ESPN alienating half the country with their politics hurt their brand just as much “cord cutting”
Sports IS ESCAPISM, and identity politics have NO PLACE in sports.
But that’s beside the point. This piece had ZERO identity politics. It was pure baseball. Dare I say (forgive me Fangraphs) the quality of this piece, was something you’d find on Fangraphs if they chose to cover this topic.
We get it, Nick, You hate liberals. But This piece had zero identity politics. Want to know how I know? There are 100’s of you, in ESPN comment section who just love to bring their ESPN hate, every story. ESPN deserves it because they insist on Politics w/ sports, But This piece had none of that, This piece ignited actual discussion. ATL fan? Must hate the DH. But don’t blame ESPN.
I hope others— unlike you— actually give this a read. It’s dated December 20, 2017 and bookmarked it, it was fascinating to read.
Wrong
It doesn’t seem unbiased . If the title is any indication of the article, it’s another one advocating for the NL to adopt the DH. The only thing I can’t figure out is what the connection is to LeBron James.
They had nothing but data, to back up that title. I know it wouldn’t be enough to convince Purists, but it sparked an interesting debate in their comment section and, I think, even managed to convince NL fans — steadfast against the DH— NL adopting the DH, was all but inevitable (how well it was written)
It’s fun for NL fans to watch, but is it really worth it for the advantage DH gives AL teams, over the NL? It’s more enjoyable for NL fans to watch, but the DH provides the AL more flexibility, not just limited to scoring more runs. That’s the thesis with data back it.
I don’t think there’s many topics more polarizing than the DH ^ I’m not trying to win this one. I’ve said what I needed to say, with regards to DH. Feel free critique the actual content of the piece not the title 😛
DH is not what makes it exciting. The lack of the Pitcher’s spot in the lineup is. If pitchers could even hit .200 consistently this would not be an issue for me, but yeah, the automatic out, the ace pulled for a pinch hitter in the 6th inning of a tight game…
….NL fans talk of strategy but there really isn’t any. You have 2, maybe 3 choices after the 5th inning when a pitcher comes up, and none of them are good. I’ve never once watched a NL game and seen a commentator mention what a brilliant strategy was executed because of NL rules– it’s almost always “whew, good thing for the manager that move worked out!”
NL rules made sense in 1930 when pitchers could hit– the 1930 Yankees rotation featured Red Ruffing (.376) Hank Johnson (.266), and Ed Wells (.259).
But when pitchers routinely can’t crack .100, and are considered great if they can top the Mendoza line (Sabathia in 2008 was revered as the games foremost elite hitting pitcher, because he hit .235 with 3 home runs)… it becomes a terribly boring game.
It’s not strategy if everyone in the building knows what you’re gonna do
So, while that is interesting to think of the disadvantage to the NL teams, the even less discussed ADVANTAGE the NL teams have is the fact that they don’t have the DH spot for aging players. Financially, they spend less on an extra bench player than they do on an additional starter at DH, but more importantly, it gives them much better “cover” for not signing potentially problematic aging players to long-term deals. Think about the Cardinals with Pujols. They were unwilling to deal on him into his 40’s, knowing that he likely could not play 1B effectively. They saved money, weren’t destroyed by their fan base for passing, and were able to continue to pivot to a younger, more athletic roster. The Braves with Brian McCann. The Braves by definition were unable to compete with the contract he received from the Yanks (which was a mistake by the Yanks) because they knew he would not be worth that staying behind the plate. AL teams sometimes jump at these high-dollar options and rationalize it by saying: “if we need him to, he can DH the last few years.”
This theory contends that NL teams don’t necessarily hate the DH because it “isn’t real baseball”, but because it keeps payrolls down, rosters younger, and assists in avoiding punishing contracts on aging players.
Thoughts?
Schoenfield article? Probably not reading that.
A cheap flyer on a former masher, let alone one with a massive chip on his shoulder, is nothing but win-win if you have the roster space. A 30 HR bat can easily turn into a next generation arm on deadline day. Tampa knows this better than any team in the league.
That first sentence is a trip. Bautista “continues to discuss one-year contracts with multiple teams about one-year contracts.”
Redundant Redundancy Department!
Remember….editors? lmao
Winning teams cant take a chance on him. His best bet is to latch on with a team that can give him playing time regardless of money. He either has no offers or simply does not want to play for the small money offered. Either way he is done. Put him in the forced to retired column
It’s sad, because if he wasn’t known for his bat-flips, after hitting home runs, or whatever, I feel like he’d be signed already; and some team would still be willing to take a chance on him, regardless of his dwindling production, and atrocious 2017.
Let this be a lesson to you, kids. Bat-flips out of your game.
Look, I’m not the biggest proponent of his bat flips, but it’s borderline ludicrous to suggest that it’s the primary reason he remains unsigned. His dismal performance and advancing age did that on its own.
please kids, go ahead and flip bats, live your life and doesn’t listen to the old man’s way of how you have to play the game.
Joey Bats doesn’t have a job atm because he is a DH who didn’t even put up a .700 OPS last year. Has nothing to do with bat flips.
Agreed. The bat flip has nothing to do with his unemployed status. It was the lack of production. Look at Napoli, who put up similar numbers to Bautista last year. He just took a minor league deal with Cleveland to stay in the game.
I wish bat flips were a bigger part of the game, like the NFL TD celebration. But only if you actually hit a homer, which by virtue of hitting a round ball with a round bat, makes the home run the hardest thing to do in pro team sports, which means, we should be celebrating it more, like on the level of how NFL players do TD’s. Bat flips with style points would look so sick, and cry me a river, the pitcher deserves to get shown up if he let it happen, he has the easy part of the duel, the only that ends up in his favor 67% or so of the time.
I’d argue that pitching a perfect game is far more difficult than hitting a homerun (especially if last season’s numbers are an indication).
But yes it is still a very difficult task to hit a homerun compared to normal scoring methods in other sports (in other words I understood your point).
NFL td celebration is utterly lame.
Little leaguers can hit a “round ball with a round bat.”
It is NOT the hardest thing to do in sports, nor is hitting a homer as it was done thousands of times last year.
Try making a full court shot in basketball or one of those OBJ one handed catches with a DB on you or getting a double eagle in golf.
That statement has been around way too long for one that can’t stand more than a few moments of scrutiny.
Can you not see the difference between those two things? One is a singular instance the other is 27 of them in a row. You might as well say a 55 game hitting streak is harder than a perfect game, or playing 3000 games in a row is harder than anything.
Sorry, but what a weird stance to take. You could argue striking a hitter out is harder than the hitter hitting a home run, but you’d be wrong.
Those things you talk about aren’t the most common or necessary thing to do in those games, hitting a baseball is literally what the game is. And hitting a 100 mph fastball 450 feet is harder than a half court shot, that Curry makes with ease. No one is hitting like 50 450 foot home run shots with ease. You are wrong.
Yeah but look man. Making an OBJ catch or making a full court shot are not normally the things you do while playing basketball or football. However, hitting a baseball is something you do constantly in the sport. You’re comparing something basic in one sport to something so difficult in another. And when people say “you’re just hitting a ball”, that’s true but remember that that ball is coming in at you at at least 90+ and when you’re going to “just hit it” you’re doing more than just hitting it. You’ve gotta see what kind of pitch it is, decide if it’s hittable or not, and then swing and this is all under one second. And just because so many people were hitting home runs last year doesn’t mean it’s not hard. They’re all professionals playing a game that they’ve all mastered and have played their entire lives. Of course everyone should be capable of hitting home runs. Personally I think baseball is one of the HARDER sports to play.
Put 10 regular people In each position….i guarantee the last thing any of them accomplishes is hitting a 450 ft baseball pitched near 100mph. It simply requires the most specific skill sets of the 3 examples given.
“Round ball with a round bat” is very challenging. Returning a 110-mph tennis serve with heavy topspin is probably more difficult if you take into account more than just the Big Four sports.
I’m sure a ton of kids are taking in your advice right now.
I feel like it is talk radio people and MLBTR commenters that seem to be obsessed with the bat flip. I doubt that comes up when GM’s discuss bringing him in. Probably has more to do with his demands
Lots of players flip their bats after deep flies. Especially the Latin players, who grow up in leagues where it’s considered normal. It’s not just Bautista. He has a rep as a hot head but he was a well respected teammate in Toronto.
Never said he wasn’t respected in Toronto. But a Toronto reunion seems unlikely, at this point . Talking about other teams, his prospective employers.
Besides being a hot head he was also a chronic complainer……like only he knew what was a ball and what was a strike – will not be sorry when we don’t see his mug any longer. We’ll have to take your word that he was respected by his teammates.
Why would you have to take his word? There’s been litterally no question his entire career that his teammates wouldn’t respect him.
What position did you play for the Blue Jays that you know for a fact that he was a well respected teammate?
teammates such as Marcus Stroman, Ryan Goins, Kevin Pillar would discuss this openly to the media? Edwin Encarnacion, Jose Reyes became great friends with Bautista in the clubhouse…..
Even minor leaguers who came up for a cup of coffee with the team would speak positively on how much Bautista would help them with advice in the bigs.
Sure, you could say they’re just saying it to the media, but why? It’s not like former teammates of Milton Bradley or Albert Belle would voluntarily speak positively about them as they truly had a history of being a bad teammate.
The Jose bad teammate narrative is pure myth making. Stroman’s story about the advice Bautista gave him as a rookie is all the ammunition anyone needs to shoot down the haters. He’s also visibly one of the first to welcome a teammate back to the dugout after they cross the plate. You haters can Google this stuff you know. Villain I get. If that guy wasn’t on my team an I had to watch him argue balls and strikes while also crushing baseballs, yes, indeed, I would hate him.
Indeed. These are the folks that are either Ranger or O’s fans or just people that do not watch any Jays baseball.
Two years ago he did a rehab stint with the AAA team in Buffalo and it was reported locally that he was an excellent clubhouse presence. He also took out the entire team to dinner. I’ve heard reports of other MLB players who barely spoke to guys in the dugout, got in their at bats and went back to hide until they were done. I was actually surprised to how highly Bautista was regarded by minor leaguers.
I hope that’s true. All stars on rehab assignments should give their time to the minor leagers.
Get it done!
Hated by many for his classless bat-flip (and as a result taking one on the chin from Roughned Odor – classic moment in baseball history), and also for his sparkling fan friendly personality but the fact remains that he turned old real fast and once he lost his bad speed he had nothing. Too injured, too often……time to take your $100 million plus Jose’ and leave the game to others younger who can do the job.
“Classless” grow up
Don’t mind scrand, he’d rather be proud of pointless violence then actually watching the game. Perhaps Odor should learn how to play when it really matters instead of getting embarrassed badly by Toronto 2 seasons straight….
And perhaps Toronto fanboys should learn to be a bit more objective and a bit less childish when discussing players who once played for their team and players who play for another team.
You use the word objective while supporting a post that singles out violence in baseball as appropriate and Latino baseball etiquette as inappropriate. Okay.
If you think a bat flip is classless, you need to find a new sport
Let me get this straight. According to you, I need to be less childish and be more objective when I criticize someone who boasts violence in baseball and not the game itself? Sorry Eddie, you’re not making any sense whatsoever.
Time and time again, whenever there is a story on Bautista on this forum, someone always rants about the Odor punch. Yet, a response about the game itself, how Toronto beat them two Postseasons in a row is wrong?
Seems legit!
I wish the cardinals had room for him
Hey you guys.. wake up.. owners and gm’s are getting smart. Guys like Bautista are garbage. If Barry bonds couldn’t get a dh job.. why would this total clown deserve to be signed. Napoli is at least a class act.. as well as matt Holliday..
Bonds did steroids, and is the face of steroid era shame.
Jose may suck, but he was never connected to PED’s or suspended for them. Doesn’t seem fair to compare two.
Love the old schoolers complaining about bat flips. Hopefully you aren’t watching Odubel Herrera on a daily basis. Dude flips his bat when he hits a single, lol .
During hockey’s 2017 offseason, BlueJays’ owner and news outlet exploited this guy for fill, promoted his one exaggerated batflip, renamed a city after him ( Joe Batt’s Arm ) in its most easterly province, and brought him back for what they thought would be a 20M$ final-tour year.
The strategy succeeded by filling up RogersCenter’s bank account with over 3 million ululating fans, but the team fell from contending grace, and received just 23 batflips
Rogers, this year, is endeavouring to christen its baseball-mindless, language-deficit manager as its new knight.
Guess we ll have to wait n see how that works out,
Thanks for the hockey season update. We need Canadians to tell us about hockey on mlbtraderumors, otherwise it would be about baseball .
Nice finger flip Edie.
Braves better stay far away. Expensive, old, and no true place on our roster except maaaayyyyyybbbbbbbeeeeee 3B which I’m sure he can’t play well at anymore
Is Jose’s defense average? If not, why would we let Matt Adams go for Bautista? Yes, Bautista is proven, but when you compare their respective AAVs, is Bautista that much of an upgrade defensively to both of their swing-first mentality?
That being said, I’m not sure I’d want his locker anywhere close to Acuna’s, but if he gets the AA stamp of approval, whatever.
At this point his defense is at best, passable. And if it is, it’s just barely
Good spelling Goat!
Bautista takes bad routes to the ball in right. He still has a cannon for an arm but he’s a much safer bet at first and third. And please don’t refer to him as a swing first guy. Other than last year he has always had a great eye with above an average OBP.
Ends up at home with the Rays on a one year minimum deal. Gets some AB’s in Right, 1st and DH, and with another subpar season, disappears after this season all together.
Doesn’t need to worry about home fans booing him in Tampa, as he doesn’t need to worry about fans showing up in Tampa.
This “no fans in Tampa crap” is really getting old. It just disses those of us who do support the team. That being said I agree about the possibility of Bautista coming to Tampa.
I agree with you geejohnny, a cheap and stupid shot by ‘Greg’
I’d say Anaheim but they are overloaded with dh spots. And Bautista is worse than Pujols on defense and he’s 5 years younger at least. Pujols is in his age 42 season.
I wonder if Nick Carfado is still writing about how great he is. For some reason Carado has been carrying his jock forever. A Sunday notes column is never written without Bautista’s name.
It’s a shame how many veterans have been pushed out of the game over the last 3 years
Let’s be honest, at least in the case of Bautista, he forced himself out. He simply hasn’t played well. By any measure, traditional or modern analytics, and basically any era, an aging dh who can’t hit is simply a poor investment to make.
Unless you’re a club filled with rookies in the midst of a rebuild. On par with hiring a hitting coach who may in fact still be able to hit. And come deadline day if he has turned things around, you deal him for more next generation assets. If the price is right I don’t see how it’s anything less than win-win.
Spot on. It had nothing to do with a bat flip, arrogance, or whatever people perceive him to be. Results are is what gets a contract. He simply did not perform well.
The game is flooded with outfielders.
Maybe he should have signed an extension when TOR BJs gave it to him. It’s going to be tough to get the level of money he wants and the contender he wants
Sounds more likely he is considering a one year deal with the Long Island Ducks.
How about the Marlins…
Agent wants to publicly declare for Bautista, “Me not dead”. Sorry Jose, appears the dirt is about to be shoveled on the casket of your mlb career.
No way Jose…
Arrogant gasbag….good riddance
I thought it was funny in 2016, he said he would like to play in Baltimore but when they interviewed the front office about it they said ” he is a great player but we could never do it to our fans. We know our fans hate the guy so we will not be talking to him but we wish him well in his free agency “
That moment in 2016 when Jose went yard against the Orioles in the Wildcard game. Now that was funny.
I think you’re getting it mixed up. His agent did contact Duquette, like any agent should to garner interest.
He didn’t personally go and tell them that he would like to play for them.