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Michael Soroka Shut Down For Season

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10:02pm: Soroka’s season is over, manager Brian Snitker confirmed to reporters (including Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution). Fortunately, imaging didn’t reveal any structural concerns and Soroka will not require surgery. With only a few weeks left in the regular season and Soroka unlikely to crack Atlanta’s playoff rosters regardless, the team will play things cautiously and shut him down.

10:00am: The Braves announced today that they have recalled right-handers Darius Vines and Ben Heller. In corresponding moves, righties Michael Soroka and Collin McHugh have each been placed on the 15-day injured list, Soroka due to right forearm inflammation and McHugh due to right shoulder inflammation.

Soroka started last night’s game for Atlanta but lasted just three innings, allowing five earned runs. Manager Brian Snitker spoke to reporters after the game, including David O’Brien of The Athletic, explaining that Soroka was experiencing numbness in the fingers of his pitching hand. “I think it’s probably a big deal,” Snitker said.

Further testing will surely come, with more information to follow based on that. Whatever the eventual results, it’s yet another frustrating setback for a pitcher who has had more than his fair share. After he made 29 starts in 2019 with a 2.68 earned run average, it seemed like he would be a cornerstone of the club’s rotation for years to come. But he then missed most of the next three seasons due to injuries, with two ruptures of his right Achilles tendon being the main culprit.

This year, he was slowed by a hamstring issue in the spring but had been largely healthy since then, getting frequently optioned to Triple-A and back as needed. He has a solid 3.41 ERA in 87 Triple-A innings this year but has a 6.40 mark in his 32 1/3 big league frames. After so much missed time, just being able to take the mound and take on that workload has to count as a big win, but he’s now facing yet another injury setback.

McHugh, now 36, signed with Atlanta on a two-year, $10MM deal going into 2022. The first season of that deal could hardly have gone much better, as he posted a 2.60 ERA over 69 1/3 innings. This year, however, his ERA has climbed to 4.30 in his 58 2/3 innings. Last year’s strikeout rate of 27.6% has dropped to just 17.5% this year, while his walk rate has climbed from 5.1% to 8.2%.

The club is in comfortable position right now, with a lead of 14.5 games in the National League East and even a lead of 3.5 games over the Orioles for best team in the majors. They will cruise into the postseason but will have a bit less pitching depth for the next few weeks and perhaps into October. A quick turnaround from either pitcher or a deep postseason run from the club could get Soroka or McHugh back into the mix but the time left in the season is narrowing quickly.

Atlanta will eventually have to make decisions about the future of both pitchers. McHugh’s contract contains a $6MM club option for 2024 with a $1MM buyout. Soroka will be eligible for arbitration again and due a raise on this year’s $2.8MM salary. He’s in his final option year and is slated to be out of options next season, which will give him less roster maneuverability going forward.

Braves Claim Andrew Velazquez, Transfer Yonny Chirinos To 60-Day IL

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The Braves announced that they have claimed infielder Andrew Velazquez off waivers from the Angels and optioned him to Triple-A. To make room on their 40-man roster, they transferred right-hander Yonny Chirinos to the 60-day injured list.

Velazquez, 29, has been serving as a glove-first utility player in the big leagues dating back to his 2018 debut. He’s hit just .189/.244/.293 in 624 career plate appearances, including a line of .173/.264/.284 this year. But he’s played a considerable amount of time at shortstop, as well as lining up at second base, third base and in the outfield, generally getting good reviews for his glovework wherever he goes.

The Angels have fallen out of contention in recent weeks and have put many players on waivers, seeing Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo López, Matt Moore, Hunter Renfroe and Dominic Leone get claimed by other clubs last week. Those moves were primarily about clearing out salary and trying to get the club under the lowest threshold of the competitive balance tax.

It doesn’t appear that would be a factor with Velazquez, as he has yet to qualify for arbitration and is presumably making a salary near the league minimum. But he was recently optioned to Triple-A as the club is getting a look at rookie Kyren Paris at short, with the versatile Luis Rengifo also able to take over that position at times. Velazquez has surpassed three years of service this season and will qualify for arbitration for the first time this winter. He will also be out of options next year and need an active roster spot. Perhaps he has fallen out of the club’s long-term plans and they decided to see if anyone else wanted to give him a shot.

It seems Atlanta will be that club, adding Velazquez to their system for a bit of extra infield depth. Since he has been acquired after September 1, he won’t be eligible to play for them in the postseason, but could perhaps be of use if any of their regular players suffers an injury or simply needs a rest over the next few weeks. He can also be retained for three more seasons, though his impending arbitration and out-of-options status will make it harder for him to hold onto a roster spot going forward.

As for Chirinos, he was placed on the injured list August 20 with right elbow inflammation. It seems the club wasn’t expecting him back anytime soon, as he will now be ineligible to return until the middle of October. He could technically return to the club in the event of a deep postseason run, but it seems fair to deduce that his season is over.

It was a bit of a bounceback for him this year, as he hardly pitched over the 2020-2022 period due to various injuries but was able to throw 85 innings between Atlanta and Tampa this year, going from the former to the latter via a waiver claim. However, his 5.40 ERA and 14.4% strikeout rate were well below his marks of 3.85 and 21.5% in 2019. Like Velazquez, he is eligible for arbitration this winter and will be out of options next season.

Braves Reinstate Dylan Lee From Injured List

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The Braves announced that left-hander Dylan Lee has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list, taking one of today’s expanded roster spots, while outfielder Forrest Wall was recalled to take the other. To open a spot on the 40-man for Lee, outfielder Sam Hilliard was transferred to the 60-day IL.

Lee, 29, got a two-inning cup of coffee in 2021 but then got a proper debut last year and was excellent. In 50 2/3 innings, he posted a 2.13 earned run average, 29.4% strikeout rate, 5% walk rate and 35.4% ground ball rate. Unfortunately, his attempts to build off that solid platform have been waylaid by injury this year. He made 20 appearances earlier in the season with a 3.10 ERA but landed on the injured list in mid-May due to left shoulder inflammation, only being activated today.

His return should strengthen an Atlanta bullpen that is already formidable. The club’s relievers have a collective 3.43 ERA this year that places them third in the majors, trailing only the Yankees and Mariners. Lee will add another quality arm to that group, joining A.J. Minter and Brad Hand as the southpaw component. The club is 88-45 and has a 14-game lead in the National League East, as well as a five-game cushion over the Dodgers and Orioles for best record in the majors.

As for Hilliard, he has been on the injured list since July 19 due to a right heel contusion. He began a rehab assignment in early August but re-injured his heel, per Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. It’s unclear what his timeline for return is, but he’ll now be ineligible to rejoin the club until 60 days from his initial IL placement, which would be mid-September.

Braves, Adam Kolarek Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Braves have agreed to a minor league contract with reliever Adam Kolarek, as reflected on the MLB.com transaction log. The veteran southpaw had recently elected free agency after being waived by the Mets.

Kolarek had split the 2023 campaign between the Dodgers and Mets. He has made five MLB appearances, working six scoreless innings. Kolarek has spent the bulk of the season in Triple-A, pitching 35 1/3 innings of 2.55 ERA ball. He has a roughly league average 23% strikeout rate in that time but has walked an uncharacteristic 13.5% of opposing hitters.

Now 34, Kolarek has pitched in parts of seven big league seasons. He was a quietly effective lefty specialist early in his career with the Rays and Dodgers. His performance over the past few seasons has been more mixed, as he struggled for Oakland between 2021-22 before this year’s small-sample success. The sidearmer doesn’t throw hard and has struggled mightily against right-handed hitters, but he’s held lefty swingers to a .184/.234/.250 line in his major league career.

By signing him before September 1, the Braves keep open the possibility of Kolarek factoring into their playoff picture. Players only need to be in an organization by the end of August to be eligible for the postseason. Even players who aren’t on the 40-man roster at the start of September can get onto the playoff roster via application to the league office for an exemption to replace an injured player, which happens a few times each year.

In the interim, the Braves can keep Kolarek at Triple-A Gwinnett as they evaluate their bullpen before October. A.J. Minter and Brad Hand are the two southpaws currently in Brian Snitker’s relief corps.

Pat Corrales Passes Away

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Former big league player, manager and coach Pat Corrales has passed away, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today. Corrales was 82 years old.

Born in Los Angeles in 1941, Patrick Corrales attended Fresno High School before signing with the Phillies as an amateur free agent in 1959. He worked his way up the minor league ladder and made his major league debut in 1964, though only got into two games that year. He would carve out a semi-regular role as a backup catcher in the seasons to come, bouncing to the Cardinals, Reds and Padres.

From 1964 to 1973, he got into 300 games and made 858 plate appearances. He had a batting average of .216 in that time, getting 166 hits, including 28 doubles, three triples and four home runs. He scored 63 runs, drove in 54 and stole one base. The 1970 Reds won the National League West and then defeated the Pirates in the NLCS to advance to the World Series, though they were then defeated by the Orioles. With the O’s up 3-1 in the series and 9-3 in the fifth game, Corrales was sent up to pinch hit for Hal McRae with two outs in the ninth. Corrales grounded out to finish the series and the season, the only postseason plate appearance of his career. (YouTube link via the Orioles.)

After his playing career ended, Corrales shifted into a managerial role, starring with the Rangers in the late ’70s before serving as skipper for Philadelphia and Cleveland. As a manager, he had a record of 572-634 over parts of nine different seasons. His last season as a manager was 1987, but he went on to spend many years as a bench coach, starting with the Yankees. He served in that role for Atlanta for nine years, including the club that won the 1995 World Series. He also served as a bench coach for the Nationals before being hired by the Dodgers as a special assistant to the general manager in 2012.

We at MLB Trade Rumors extend our condolences to his family, friends and loved ones.

Braves Promote Darius Vines, Activate Ozzie Albies

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The Braves announced a handful of roster moves Monday, optioning infielder Vaughn Grissom and lefty Jared Shuster to Triple-A Gwinnett while recalling righty Darius Vines for his MLB debut and reinstating second baseman Ozzie Albies from the injured list.

Vines, 25, was Atlanta’s seventh-round pick back in 2019 and has pitched well across three minor league levels this season after returning from a lengthy absence brought about by shoulder inflammation. Baseball America currently ranks him fifth among Braves prospects, while MLB.com has him tenth and FanGraphs pegs him 13th.

Since returning from the injured list in June, Vines has made nine starts: two with the team’s Rookie-level affiliate in the Florida Complex League, two in High-A and five with Triple-A Gwinnett once those four rehab appearances were complete. He hadn’t pitched beyond six innings until his most recent outing — a seven-inning start against the Brewers’ Triple-A affiliate — but Vines has reached 90 pitches in each of his past three starts. He’ll give the Braves a long option out of the bullpen or a candidate to make a spot start, as needed.

In 43 1/3 innings this year, the Cal State Bakersfield product has posted a 2.70 ERA with a 27.1% strikeout rate, 8.2% walk rate and 44.4% ground-ball rate. Scouting reports at BA, MLB.com and FanGraphs tab Vines as a potential back-of-the-rotation arm thanks to his command of a three-pitch repertoire (fastball, slider, changeup). The changeup draws plus (60 on the 20-80 scale) or better offerings, with BA’s report noting that some scouts have put a plus-plus (70) grade on the pitch.

Vines joins Shuster, Dylan Dodd, Michael Soroka, AJ Smith–Shawver, Allan Winans and (once healthy) Ian Anderson as an in-house option who can compete for a rotation job next year. The Braves are largely set with Max Fried, Charlie Morton, Bryce Elder and a soon-to-return Kyle Wright making up the front four in the rotation both down the stretch and likely in the 2023 postseason. Morton isn’t a lock to return — the Braves have a $20MM option on him for the 2024 season — which will leave at least one and possibly two spots to be sorted out next spring. (The offseason could bring about trades and/or free-agent additions to address the starting staff, of course.)

As for Albies, he’ll return after two weeks on the shelf due to a strained hamstring. The Braves initially expressed optimism that Albies was only dealing with some minor cramping and might not even require an IL stint, but further testing revealed what wound up apparently being a fairly minor strain. Given Atlanta’s overwhelming lead in the NL East, there was every reason to proceed with caution, as they can effectively sleepwalk their way to a division title with a 12.5-game lead and just 33 games left to be played. Albies is in the midst of another terrific season, batting .267/.327/..514 with 28 home runs in 510 plate appearances.

Charlie Morton’s Continued Late-Career Success

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Shortly before the start of last offseason, the Braves checked off a key part of their winter checklist. Atlanta agreed to preemptively exercise a $20MM option on Charlie Morton at the end of September. In exchange, the veteran righty gave the club a matching option for the ’24 campaign.

It was a fairly typical move for an organization that has both been very aggressive on doling out in-season extensions and adept at securing future option years. At the same time, the decision was met with a fair bit of skepticism from a chunk of the fanbase (as evidenced by the comment section on MLBTR’s post). It was a relatively lofty salary — albeit on just a one-year commitment — for a pitcher who carried a 4.29 ERA during his age-38 campaign at the time of signing.

The Braves bet on Morton’s more impressive peripherals and sustained mid-90s velocity in projecting his ERA to improve this year. They’ve been proven right in that evaluation, as the 16-year veteran is turning in one of the better seasons of his career. Morton carries a 3.37 ERA across 141 2/3 innings over 25 starts. He’s averaging 5 2/3 frames per appearance, a bit better than last season, and is on his way to a fifth sub-4.00 showing in the seven years since his late-career breakout for the 2017 Astros.

Morton has been particularly good of late. In 10 starts dating back to the beginning of July, he owns a 2.70 ERA across 56 2/3 innings. He’s reeled off three straight scoreless outings in his last trio of appearances, fanning 25 hitters in the process. Those starts have admittedly come against the plummeting New York offenses, but it’s still a promising sign for Atlanta as they set their pitching staff for October.

On the whole, the two-time All-Star has performed as the front office had envisioned. His strikeout rate has taken a slight step back, dipping from 28.2% a season ago to 25.5% this year. That’s still a couple points above the 22.1% league mark for starting pitchers. Morton has compensated for the slight dip in punchouts with a few more grounders.

His repertoire looks as strong as it had been. Morton’s 94.9 MPH average four-seam fastball speed exactly matches last year’s mark. His curveball velocity is up a tick. He’s getting whiffs on both those offerings at a similar clip as he did in 2022. Morton’s overall swinging-strike rate is trending to land between 12% and 13% for a fifth consecutive season.

The only quibble with his performance has been spotty command. The righty has battled walks intermittently throughout his career, particularly since finding the velocity surge that has enabled his productive second act as a power pitcher. He’s walking just under 11% of opposing hitters this year, which would be his highest full-season rate since his 2008 rookie campaign. No National League pitcher has plunked more batters than Morton, who has hit 10 opponents. That’s a decent amount of free passes, but he hasn’t had any issue working around those extra baserunners thanks to his strikeouts and general lack of authoritative contact allowed.

Keeping Morton has taken on extra importance for an Atlanta team that has needed to tap into its rotation depth more than it did a year ago. The Braves had nine players log at least 10 innings out of the rotation in 2022; they’re already at 12 such arms this season. Extended absences for Max Fried and Kyle Wright have left the Braves rotating a number of players through the two spots not locked down by Spencer Strider, Morton and Bryce Elder. Fried is back and Wright is on a minor league rehab stint, so things are trending up with a month to go before the postseason, but Morton’s durability was key for Atlanta in building their essentially insurmountable NL East lead.

As the season winds down, president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos and his front office are faced with an identical decision on Morton as they had last summer: whether to bring him back for another season at $20MM. There’s a strong case for them doing so. If the Braves (correctly) felt Morton would live up to that sum last September, they could make a similar calculation this time around. His stuff looks the same and he’s been better at keeping runs off the board. Even with a few more walks, it’s easy to argue Morton is a comparable or better pitcher than he was at this time a year ago.

His age is a relevant factor for any contract questions. Morton turns 40 next offseason. At some point, as happens to almost every player, his performance will fall off. There’s nothing beyond the general risk of any 40-year-old pitcher to suggest Morton is nearing a cliff, though. If he decides to suit up for a 17th season, he’d enter next year again looking like a quality mid-rotation arm.

Atlanta has control over every starting pitcher on the roster. Fried and Wright are eligible for arbitration. Strider is already signed through 2028 (plus a 2029 option) under last year’s extension, while Elder and their host of younger rotation options (AJ Smith-Shawver, Jared Shuster, Dylan Dodd) are in their pre-arbitration seasons. Roster Resource projects the club’s 2024 guaranteed commitments around $133MM, roughly $70MM south of this year’s franchise-record Opening Day payroll. Exercising Morton’s option would bring them to approximately $153MM, while an arbitration class including Fried, Wright and A.J. Minter tacks on something in the $25-30MM range. Exercising Morton’s option and a $9MM option for Eddie Rosario — which could be a borderline call — would leave the Braves within $20MM of this year’s payroll entering the offseason.

Of course, they’d also virtually be retaining the entirety of what looks to be the best team in the majors. The Braves did almost nothing in free agency last winter and have excelled regardless thanks to their incredible internal core and the Sean Murphy trade acquisition (and subsequent six-year extension). The organization could be content with a similar approach during the upcoming winter.

Assuming Morton wants to continue playing, will the Braves bring him back at another $20MM price point?

(poll link for app users)

 

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Ozzie Albies Nearing Return

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  • Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies has been on the 10-day injured list since earlier this month with a hamstring strain, but could already be nearing a return. Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution relayed an update regarding Albies this evening, indicating that Atlanta will “see just how well he feels” tomorrow after a successful workout this afternoon. When Albies is ready to go, it seems he’ll be activated from the injured list directly, as Toscano notes that manager Brian Snitker has previously indicated the infielder won’t require a rehab assignment before returning to action. Albies, who sports a 121 wRC+ in 510 trips to the plate this season, has been covered for by Nicky Lopez and Vaughn Grissom at the keystone while he’s been on the shelf.

Braves Place Ozzie Albies On 10-Day IL With Hamstring Strain

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Aug. 15: The Braves have formally placed Albies on the injured list and recalled Grissom from Triple-A Gwinnett, per a team announcement. Lopez and Grissom figure to split time at second base while Albies is on the mend.

Aug. 14: The Braves are placing Ozzie Albies on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain, manager Brian Snitker told reporters, including Mark Bowman of MLB.com (Twitter link). Albies left the field early on Sunday with what the club called “hamstring cramping” and did not play in the series opener against the Yankees the following night.

The second baseman is in the midst of an excellent season, with a 120 wRC+ and 3.2 FanGraphs WAR. Prior to his injury, he hadn’t missed a game all year, and he was on pace to blow past his career high of 30 home runs, set in 2021. He has also gone 11-for-11 in stolen base attempts.

Nicky Lopez, whom the Braves acquired from the Royals at the trade deadline, is likely to fill in at second base. The 28-year-old utility infielder has performed admirably in his first four games with Atlanta, smacking seven hits in ten at-bats. His success at the plate is unlikely to continue (he has a career .632 OPS), but he should provide the Braves with excellent defense at the keystone corner. He has already amassed 7 Outs Above Average this season in a part-time role.

Atlanta will need another infielder to take Albies’ spot on the roster, and Snitker indicated that Vaughn Grissom is a possibility (Bowman link). The 22-year-old filled in for Albies last year while the All-Star second baseman nursed a fractured foot and then a fractured finger. Grissom is hitting well at Triple-A, with a .906 OPS and a 129 wRC+ in 88 games.

Albies has been a core contributor for the Braves since his rookie season in 2017, but Atlanta should be just fine in his absence. The Braves have the best record in baseball, and according to FanGraphs, they have a 99.9% chance to win the NL East. With an 11.5-game lead in the division, they can afford to exercise the utmost caution with Albies to ensure he is back to full strength in time for the playoffs.

José Bautista To Officially Retire

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José Bautista hasn’t played in a big league game since 2018 but had never officially retired in the years after his last appearance. Shi Davidi of Sportsnet was among those to report today that Bautista will sign a one-day contract with Toronto to officially retire as a Blue Jay, as part of the ceremony wherein he will be added to the club’s Level of Excellence on Saturday.

Bautista, now 42, didn’t have the typical path to baseball stardom as he wasn’t a high draft pick or top prospect. The Pirates selected him in the 20th round of the draft in 2000 and he would get some modest attention from prospect evaluators after that, with Baseball America ranking him #14 in the system in 2002 and #7 in 2003.

In 2004, he had an especially unusual season, getting selected by the Orioles in the Rule 5 draft. As the season wore on, he was claimed off waivers by the Devil Rays, then was subsequently traded to the Royals, Mets and back to the Pirates. He would stick with the Pirates for a few years, mostly as a third baseman but also playing some outfield. He showed glimpses of his potential at the plate, hitting 16 home runs in 2006, 15 the year after and another 15 in 2008.

That 2008 season saw him traded to the Blue Jays in August for a player to be named later, which was eventually revealed as Robinzon Díaz. A fairly forgettable transaction at the time, it would later prove to be the start of the defining era of Bautista’s career.

His first full season as a Blue Jay wasn’t especially noteworthy, as Bautista hit 13 home runs in 2009, though there were a few developments that would prove to be important in later years. He began incorporating a leg kick into his swing and also started to spend more time in right field, with his strong throwing arm a good fit for that spot.

In 2010, at the age of 29, Bautista broke out in stunning fashion. He launched 54 home runs for the Jays that year, setting a new single season record for the franchise. He also showed a keen eye at the plate, drawing walks in 14.6% of his plate appearances. His .260/.378/.617 batting line amounted to a wRC+ of 165, indicating he was 65% better than the league average hitter. The Jays decided to bank on that breakout, giving Bautista a five-year, $65MM extension that covered his final arbitration season and four free agent years, with a club option for 2016.

He followed that up with an even better season overall. His home run tally dropped to 43 in 2011, but his patient approach allowed him to take advantage of pitchers giving him less to hit. He was walked in 20.2% of his trips to the plate in 2011, leading to a .302/.447/.608 slash line. His 180 wRC+ was the best in the majors that year and would eventually prove to be his personal best as well. He was considered to be worth 8.1 wins above replacement by FanGraphs and 8.4 by Baseball Reference. He came in third in AL MVP voting behind Justin Verlander and Jacoby Ellsbury.

His production would continue in fairly similar fashion for years to come, defined by both his power output and on-base abilities. From 2012 to 2016, he hit between 22 and 40 home runs each year with his walk rate never finishing below 13.1%. Despite that excellent production, and that of another late-blooming star in Edwin Encarnación, the Jays struggled to push too far beyond .500 in most of those seasons.

The 2015 season finally changed that, with the Jays aggressively bolstering the roster by adding Josh Donaldson, Russell Martin and others in the offseason. The trade deadline saw further aggression, with the club adding a batch of players headlined by Troy Tulowitzki and David Price. The moves paid off when the Jays surged in the final months of the season and finished 93-69, winning the American League East and cracking the postseason for the first time since 1993.

Bautista’s first opportunity to play in the playoffs would lead to a singular moment and image that are now cemented in the minds of millions of baseball fans. The Jays squared off against the Rangers in the Wild Card series, which had a best-of-five format at that time. The Jays lost the first two games but rallied to tie it up and force a fifth contest.

In the deciding game, the Jays fell behind in the top of the seventh 3-2 on a strange play wherein Rougned Odor scored when Martin’s attempted throw back to pitcher Aaron Sanchez hit the bat of Shin-Soo Choo and ricocheted away. Home plate umpire Dale Scott initially ruled the ball dead but the umpiring crew eventually allowed the run to score. That soured the mood in the stadium, with many fans throwing debris to express their displeasure.

In the bottom of the frame, several defensive miscues from the Rangers allowed the Jays to tie the game up before Bautista launched a two-out, three-run home run to give the Jays a 6-3 lead. Bautista reacted to the emotionally-charged atmosphere by flipping his bat high into the air, which proved to be controversial in some baseball circles, though it would quickly become an iconic moment among Jays’ fans. Toronto held on to win that game but would lose to the Royals in the ALCS.

After Bautista’s extension ended, the Jays gave him a $17.2MM qualifying offer for 2017. He rejected that and became a free agent but eventually returned to Toronto via a one-year, $18.5MM deal. He still hit 23 home runs and walked in 12.2% of his plate appearances, but his overall production fell to .203/.308/.366 and a wRC+ of 81.

In 2018, he returned to the journeyman status that started his career, bouncing to the Braves, Mets and Phillies. He didn’t sign with a club in the years to come, though he did reportedly consider a comeback as a two-way player in 2020, but later threw some cold water on those reports. He played for the Dominican Republic team in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which were pushed to 2021 by delays related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now it seems his playing days will be officially ended during this weekend’s festivities, tying a bow on one of the more unique baseball journeys. Though Bautista began and ended his career as a journeyman, he had a late bloom that led to a lengthy stretch as one of the best players in the league. From 2010 to 2015, he hit 227 home runs, easily the most in the league for that time with Miguel Cabrera second at 199. He slashed .268/.390/.555 in that time for a wRC+ of 156 and tallied 33.2 fWAR, that latter figure placing him sixth among position players. His 60 outfield assists in that stretch were topped by just three other big leaguers. He engineered many memorable moments during that peak, too many to list here, featuring both his tremendous talents as well as his fiery and standout personality.

Over his career as a whole, he played 1,798 games and took 7,244 trips to the plate. He launched 344 home runs and walked at a 14.2% rate, leading to a .247/.361/.475 batting line and 126 wRC+. He had 1,496 hits, 1,022 runs scored, 975 driven in and stole 70 bases. He tallied 35.3 fWAR and 36.7 bWAR. He made six straight All-Star teams from 2010 to 2015, led the league in home runs twice, earned a couple of Hank Aaron awards and three Silver Sluggers. As a Blue Jay, his tallies of 38.3 bWAR and 36.2 fWAR are both the best in franchise history among position players, with only Dave Stieb and Roy Halladay ahead of him overall.

We at MLB Trade Rumors salute Bautista on an incredibly special career and wish him the best in all his post-playing endeavors.

Images courtesy of USA Today Sports.

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