Jose Bautista was a cornerstone for the Toronto Blue Jays for years, but for the first time since leaving the north, he will be donning a different major league team’s uniform. Bautista chose to sign a minor league pact with the Braves a few weeks ago and has been going through a spring training of sorts with AAA Gwinnett. His bat finally heated up in the past week, and the Braves are now promoting him to the major league roster.
Bautista’s deal did come with a catch, however. The Braves plan on using him at third base. Bautista does have a good amount of third base experience in his career, but at 37 years old, moving back to the hot corner is not the easiest task. However, he has apparently looked pretty good in the infield.
Bautista will likely slide into the starting third baseman job, with Johan Camargo sliding into a super utility role. But if Bautista does not produce after coming off a down season, it will be a hard job to hold. Baustista has struggled to hit for average in recent seasons, but is still a solid source of power. The Braves will hope that he has one good year left in the tank. If things pan out, this will go down as a great no-risk, high reward deal.