The Atlanta Braves have a new third baseman. Mark Bowman tweets Jose Bautista starts at third against the Giants tonight.
Atlanta Braves search for a right hand hitting power bat reaches a new stage tonight. Former Blue Jay slugger Jose Bautista gets his shot to be that guy and resurrect his career as the Braves third baseman.
Yesterday on XM Radio’s Inside Pitch, Alex Anthopoulos dodged questions about Bautista’s arrival. This morning he apparently changed his mind.
Bautista’s journey to the Atlanta Braves
From 2010 through 2015 the player opposing fans love to hate slashed .268/.390/.555/.945 with a .403 wOBA 156 wRC+ and 34.1fWAR. Those numbers made Bautista’s 2016 season look like a really bad year.
It was a down year as he slashed just .234/.366/.455/.818 with a .355 wOBA and 122 wRC+ but Bautista still deliver considerable more production than many outfielders. The disaster came in 2017 as he produced just a .295 wOBA and 80 wRC+.
As a result the perennial superstar slugger started the season without a team. Then Alex Anthopoulos contacted him and he agreed to join the Braves instead of taking more lucrative offers elsewhere.
Why the Atlanta Braves
Bautista told John Lott of the Atlantic (subscription required and highly recommended) he chose Atlanta because of Anthopoulos.
"“He and I have developed a relationship . . .I have trust in what he tells me, and understanding also how he’s going to try to lead this team in the right direction. In the short and long-term, things were very attractive to me.”"
To play in Atlanta Bautista had to move back to third base, a position he appeared at rarely after leaving the Pirates in 2007. If Bautista were a good third baseman he’s have been Toronto’s third baseman.
Prior to the arrival of Josh Donaldson in 2015, the Jays tried a series of players at third; none stuck. In spite of that and after playing 205 innings in 2011, Joey Bats third base duties were effectively cameos.
That made his decision to join the Braves more than saying yes to his old boss. Not only did he sign for a pittance compared to his former salary, he had to play a position outside of his comfort zone knowing any mistake would be amplified.