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Jose Bautista On Potential Return To MLB

By Steve Adams | April 23, 2020 at 8:25am CDT

Earlier this spring, longtime Blue Jays star Jose Bautista found himself in headlines when reports emerged suggesting that the two-time AL home run champ was contemplating a comeback bid as a two-way player after not suiting up in 2019. Former teammate Marcus Stroman posted some videos of the two working out together, including video of Bautista pitching, which only fueled the story.

The 39-year-old Bautista appeared on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM this week to discuss his future in the game (Twitter link, with audio). While he isn’t ruling out anything with regard to working on the mound, Bautista also made clear that he’s not actively seeking a chance to pitch and considers himself a hitter above all else.

I’ve never stated that it was my plan or desire to make it to the big leagues as a big league pitcher. … That being said, I was working out with Stroman all offseason. He’s local to Tampa. He’s my really good friend, he needed a throwing partner, and I just got on his program to help him out and have fun with it. He since has posted a few pictures and videos of me going through the routine with him, which has led to a lot of speculation — needless to say. I’m a hitter. … I would entertain an opportunity to get back to the big leagues as a hitter. … If somebody calls me and says, ’Hey, you want to be a two-way guy?’ I’d be a fool to say no. That’s kind of the way I look at it.

Bautista went on to note that he’s not banking on anything and would be staying in shape regardless of his playing status, but it seems he’d approach any opportunity to return with an open mind. His bat dropped off notably in his final two big league seasons, when he slashed a combined .203/.323/.371 in 1085 plate appearances between the Blue Jays, Braves, Mets and Phillies. Even in the midst of that downturn, though, Bautista demonstrated a keen eye (13.9 percent walk rate) and solid power (36 home runs, .168 ISO). His 25.8 percent strikeout rate was up about 10 percent from his peak years but not egregiously high in today’s game.

Whether Bautista received any interest on minor league deals over the past couple of offseasons isn’t clear, although it stands to reason that if the league adopts a universal DH and/or expands rosters to 29-plus players for a shortened 2020 season — both have reportedly been discussed — Bautista could become a more appealing target. It’s eminently possible that we’ve seen the last of “Joey Bats” in the Majors and likely that we’ll never get to break out a “Joey Sliders” moniker in earnest, but the six-time All-Star still isn’t quite closing the door on another run.

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Jose Bautista

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Comments

  1. suddendepth

    12 months ago

    I enjoyed this guy as a role player in the Phillies outfield when they were trying to stay in the hunt. It looked like he still had some gas in the tank. Hopefully he can stick around a bit longer with the 26 man rosters. I know that’s doubtful given his lack of positional flexibility but his toolkit still plays. Seems like a solid teammate despite the flip into the heavens and the face punching incident.

    1 Like
    Reply
  2. ZUFFAHD

    12 months ago

    Jays should sign him, let him retire in toronto.

    Like
    Reply
  3. Fg-3

    12 months ago

    Arrogance will keep him out. Too many other options at DH. 39 hang it up dude

    1 Like
    Reply
    • 13yearoldbaseballfanatic

      12 months ago

      His weight will keep him out. Too many other options at SP. In your mid-40s hang it up dude.
      Imagine saying that to Bartolo Colon who hasn’t been in the bigs since 2018 as well.

      2 Like
      Reply
    • Strike Four

      12 months ago

      I would stop viewing this situation with anger, but rather, sadness. What we are witnessing in real time is a man watching his time end and scraping, begging for one last little kernel, one last little sliver of life at the highest level for a pro athlete.

      On the other hand, imagine being 39 with probably like $30M in the bank and not retiring. Some people….

      Like
      Reply
      • bjupton100

        12 months ago

        He’s not done by any means and could definitely outhit a significant amount of the league.

        Like
        Reply
  4. expos771

    12 months ago

    good iddee but shapiro an is friend are probably to dumb

    Like
    Reply
  5. zanek

    12 months ago

    He won’t come back because of his age and he has not played in a MLB game since 2018 and most teams would not be interested in signing him

    Like
    Reply
  6. zanek

    12 months ago

    He won’t come back because of his age and he has not played in a MLB game since 2018 and most teams would not be interested in signing him.

    Like
    Reply
    • MrMet17

      12 months ago

      You can say that again…

      Like
      Reply
      • tmcwickham318

        12 months ago

        he already did…

        Like
        Reply
  7. Maurice Lock

    12 months ago

    If Jon Jay can still find a dumb GM to sign him, why not Bautista?

    Like
    Reply
    • DarkSide830

      12 months ago

      Jon Jay still is a solid 4th/5th OF option

      1 Like
      Reply
      • Ted

        12 months ago

        -0.8 WAR last year after 0.5 WAR the year before isn’t really a solid 4th OF. In Bautista’s last season (2018) he at least put up 1.4 WAR. That isn’t horrendous.

        1 Like
        Reply
        • DarkSide830

          12 months ago

          Jay was also injured for a good portion of last year. last full season he posted soild numbers. even at times last year his BA off the bench was solid.

          1 Like
          Reply
        • Maurice Lock

          12 months ago

          Even more reason not to sign Jay. Injured. 35. Quite possibly the least productive career .285 hitter in the last 20 years. Any AAA player is better than him.

          1 Like
          Reply
        • lowtalker1

          12 months ago

          If you only look at “war” you’re part of the problem in baseball right now

          Like
          Reply
      • Maurice Lock

        12 months ago

        No, Jay is not. He’s slow, no arm, no power, no defense. But he sure can succeed at getting HBP.

        1 Like
        Reply
  8. Ully

    12 months ago

    Joey Sliders, love it!

    Like
    Reply
  9. DarkSide830

    12 months ago

    i dont get all the darts being thrown at Bautista. sure its crazy, but we’ve seen crazy a lot recently. Bartolo’s in Mexico, Venters was out of the majors for years, Grady Sizemore came back. this may be one of tne craziest comebacks yet, but baseball is a sport of comebacks.

    2 Like
    Reply
  10. 30 Parks

    12 months ago

    Jose Bautista and Marcus Stroman – telling.

    1 Like
    Reply
    • Paul Miller

      12 months ago

      Telling of what?

      Like
      Reply
  11. JDGoat

    12 months ago

    A true pros pro

    Like
    Reply
  12. wild bill tetley

    12 months ago

    If a minor league contract was offered to Bautista would he accept it?

    Like
    Reply
  13. Paul Miller

    12 months ago

    hard to say really. I think he would if there was a decent chance of getting on the roster.

    Like
    Reply
  14. Gomez Toth

    12 months ago

    This might be the wrong Jose, as I suspect Jose Reyes has a better chance of returning as a two-way player. Reyes did pitch an inning in MLB,.after all – two homers, two walks, and a HBP, but technically he did pitch. Get Jeff-Jeff on the phone!

    Like
    Reply
  15. brucenewton

    12 months ago

    Love of the game rides hard. 100 million in the bank.

    Like
    Reply
  16. Iknowmorebaseball

    12 months ago

    Why did I I read this article? Why did they write this article? Why am I even putting attention to this article and posting a comment here about this article?

    Perhaps the writer is just passing time and we are all passing time here reading this nonsense about Bautista At 39 coming back to play Major league baseball. Please do yourself a favor and come to grips that it’s over and now use that cash to have fun in retirement.

    Like
    Reply
    • drchilmrichalds

      12 months ago

      Nelson Cruz disagrees with your age assessment

      Like
      Reply

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