Jose Bautista

Free Agent Rumblings: Bautista, Bruce, Walker, Mets, Alcides, Hochevar, Utley

By Mark Polishuk | December 28, 2017 at 8:27pm CDT

The Rays have been linked to Jose Bautista both last winter and even earlier this offseason, though MLB.com’s Bill Chastain hasn’t heard about any interest from the team’s end. Bautista makes some sense as a right-handed platoon partner with lefty-swingers Brad Miller and Corey Dickerson at first base or DH, and Bautista also lives in the Tampa area. He would be a low-cost signing for the Rays in the wake of his dreadful 2017 season, though that same lackluster performance could be the reason the Rays are apparently looking elsewhere rather than hope Bautista can bounce back at age 37. On the other hand, Chastain notes that the Rays have made other veteran additions in the past without any advance warning, so it’s probably too early to definitively rule out a signing.

Here are some more items about veteran names still on the market…

Jay Bruce or Neil Walker are “highly unlikely” to sign with the Mets, Newsday’s Marc Carig said in an appearance on The Orange & Blue Thing show (Facebook link, Carig joins around the 21:00 mark). The possibility can’t be entirely ruled out, however, given the nature of this “weird offseason” that has seen so many top free agents remain available as we approach the start of January. Carig’s segment is well worth a full listen, as he also discusses such topics as the communication issues that has plagued the Mets’ organization and (along those same lines) his recent commentary criticizing team ownership for its lack of transparency.
There isn’t much action in Alcides Escobar’s market, leading MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan to write that the Royals could consider re-signing the shortstop as veteran depth behind Raul Mondesi. The Padres were the only team known to be interested in Escobar this offseason, and they’re now seemingly out of the shortstop market after acquiring Freddy Galvis. It would’ve been a tall order for Escobar to find a starting gig anywhere given his lack of offensive production, and if he did go anywhere as a backup, a familiar locale like Kansas City makes as much sense as any other destination.
Also from Flanagan’s mailbag piece, the Royals have some uncertainty whether or not Luke Hochevar will continue his career. Hochevar missed all of 2017 after recovering from thoracic outlet syndrome surgery, and he also missed the entire 2014 season due to Tommy John surgery. Royals GM Dayton Moore said during the Winter Meetings that he hadn’t recently spoken to Hochevar about a possible reunion, though Flanagan wrote that the Royals would have interest in bringing him back. Hochevar just turned 34 last September and posted excellent numbers as a reliever in his last three active seasons.
There is very little chance of Chase Utley returning to the Phillies, MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki writes. Whether Utley returns for a 16th MLB season or retires, Zolecki figures Utley will remain on the west coast, either staying at home or playing for the Dodgers. Zolecki also refutes a report that Utley was a candidate to become the Phillies’ bench coach, noting that Utley wasn’t even under consideration for the job before the team eventually hired Rob Thomson.

Free Agent Rumblings: Walker, Cobb, Chatwood, Minor, Lucroy, Bautista

By Jeff Todd | November 15, 2017 at 2:19pm CDT

As major league organizations compete to bring home the shiniest new cars in Playoffville (Copyright Scott Boras), let’s check in on the latest rumored connections:

The Pirates have at least “some interest” in old friend Neil Walker, Jon Morosi of MLB Network tweets. Morosi cites uncertainty surrounding Jung Ho Kang as driving the possibility of a reunion, though as MLB.com’s Adam Berry writes, there’s another perspective on that subject, too. GM Neal Huntington says there’s still some hope that Kang will be able to return and finish his contract. If not, though, he feels the team is in good shape in the infield without him, due in part to the acquisition of Sean Rodriguez over the summer.
It seems there’s some mutual interest between the Cubs and righty Alex Cobb, as Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times writes. That’s not a surprising connection, given the common roots with the Rays of Cobb and several key Cubs figures. The sides have engaged in preliminary discussions, though Wittenmyer’s sources tell him that contract particulars haven’t yet been broached.
Another starter getting a bite is Tyler Chatwood, in whom the Orioles have shown interest, per Morosi (via Twitter). That’s a connection that comes as little surprise. Baltimore is going to have to take some chances to fill out its staff, and Chatwood looks to be one of the market’s more interesting possibilities to provide value. He won’t turn 28 until December and has posted solid results outside of Coors Field, prompting MLBTR to predict a three-year deal (albeit at a relatively modest annual value). While Camden Yards and the AL East are an intimidating prospect for many pitchers, Chatwood at least has plenty of experience dealing with similar challenges.
The Mets are among the teams with interest in free agent southpaw Mike Minor, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. We’ve heard recently about New York’s desire to pursue impact relief pitching, and Minor certainly fits that mold. Given his past history as a starter and dominance against southpaws last year, the 29-year-old would provide quite a bit of functionality.
The Astros are showing some interest in free agent catcher Jonathan Lucroy, according to Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter). Lucroy could make for an interesting fit in Houston, though adding a backstop of that quality no doubt would represent a luxury for the team that already has most everything. Presumably, the ’Stros could plan to split time between Lucroy and fellow veteran Brian McCann, with the other spending quite a lot of time at DH (if not also some first base). Signing Lucroy could mean non-tendering Evan Gattis, though he might also be retained and also utilized in the same rotation. There are certainly some intriguing possibilities here, though Lucroy should also be pursued by others that might offer him significant time as a primary catcher.
It seems the Rays could again be a suitor for veteran slugger Jose Bautista, per Morosi (Twitter links). Talks haven’t really progressed to this point, but that’s hardly surprising — particularly since Tampa Bay’s entire offseason approach remains largely unclear. For his part, Bautista is said to be willing to spend time at DH or the corner infield, per agent Jay Alou.

Blue Jays Decline Jose Bautista’s 2018 Option

By Mark Polishuk | November 4, 2017 at 4:10pm CDT

The Blue Jays officially declined their end of Jose Bautista’s $17MM mutual option for 2018, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reports (Twitter link). The Jays informed Bautista of the move back in September, and GM Ross Atkins confirmed during his end-of-season talk with reporters that the option wouldn’t be picked up. Bautista will receive $500K for the option’s buyout.

It seemed as if Bautista and the Blue Jays would part ways after winter, but after Bautista failed to drum up much interest in free agency, he re-signed with Toronto for a one-year, $18.5MM deal (which included the 2018 mutual option and a 2019 vesting option worth $20MM). Any hopes the Jays had of scoring a bargain were dashed after Bautista followed up an injury-plagued down year in 2016 with a sub-replacement level (-0.5 fWAR) 2017 season. Bautista hit just .203/.308/.366 over 686 plate appearances, managing 23 homers but creating 20 percent fewer runs (80 wRC+) than the average batter.

Bautista said he wants to continue his career, though at age 37 and with two declining years now on his record, he may be hard-pressed to even find a Major League contract this winter. He has expressed an openness to playing first base in the past, so that extra bit of versatility could help his case, particularly since his right field defense has been subpar over the last few season. Atkins described the chances of Bautista returning to Toronto on a smaller contract next season as “very unlikely,” which isn’t a surprise since the Jays are looking to get younger and more athletic, plus the DH spot is filled by Kendrys Morales.

GM Ross Atkins On Blue Jays’ Offseason Needs

By Mark Polishuk | October 3, 2017 at 8:46pm CDT

Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins met with reporters (including Sportsnet.ca’s Ben Nicholson-Smith and MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm) today to discuss his team’s season and how the Jays plan to move forward going into the winter. Some highlights…

The Jays will be “open to trades” and “open to any possible way we can make our team better,” Atkins said, stressing the need for added depth and versatility. The GM reiterated that the Jays aren’t looking to trade from their Major League roster unless they find a deal that improves the big league team.
The Blue Jays want to “add one impact arm and one impact position player for sure,” though Atkins wasn’t necessarily sure that the position player would play right field, which is the only clear opening in the lineup. Teoscar Hernandez has “certainly earned the right” to compete for the everyday right field job in the wake of an impressive September. The “impact arm” also could be either a starter or a relief pitcher.
Lack of team speed “is a clear issue for us,” though one that Atkins admitted is “really hard to [address] in free agency” given that most of the available veterans are generally on the older side and lacking in quickness.
Middle infield is an area of concern, as “we can’t rely that we will have an absolutely healthy Troy Tulowitzki and Devon Travis for the entire year, and we need to build depth around them.” Injuries limited Tulowitzki and Travis to just 116 games combined last year, and both players have exhibited a lack of durability over the last few seasons.
Atkins confirmed that the Jays will not be exercising their end of Jose Bautista’s mutual option for 2018. (Sportsnet.ca’s Shi Davidi recently reported that Bautista was informed of the team’s decision a few weeks ago.) It is “very unlikely,” Atkins said, that Bautista will return to the Jays even on a smaller deal in 2018, though the door isn’t closed on the longtime slugger eventually returning to the franchise. “When he comes back here, he will be celebrated in a very strong way,” Atkins said.
No changes are coming to the coaching staff, and there weren’t any strong rumblings about a possible managerial change, Atkins confirmed that John Gibbons would also return to the dugout. “I feel strongly that he’s a part of our solution, and I love going to work with him every day,” Atkins said about the manager.

Jose Bautista Plans To Play Next Season

By Connor Byrne | October 2, 2017 at 4:45pm CDT

The 2017 season was easily Jose Bautista’s worst since his memorable breakout campaign in 2010, but the soon-to-be 37-year-old has no plans to retire, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet reports. If the right fielder does play somewhere next season, it probably won’t be in Toronto, which informed Bautista a couple weeks ago that it will buy him out for $500K in lieu of exercising its half of his $17MM mutual option, according to Davidi. Considering Bautista’s struggles this year, the decision was an obvious one for the Blue Jays, who gave the franchise icon a hero’s sendoff during their final home series of the season from Sept. 22-24.

A Blue Jay since August 2008, when they acquired him from Pittsburgh in a swap for catcher Robinzon Diaz (who had his last of 148 major league plate appearances in 2009), Bautista now stands as one of the greatest players in team history. Across 5,272 PAs with the Jays, Bautista slashed .253/.372/.506 with 288 home runs – second to Carlos Delgado in club history. While Bautista’s regular-season production in Toronto was outstanding, his go-ahead three-run homer and subsequent bat flip in the seventh inning of Game 5 of the 2015 ALDS against the Rangers will go down as his signature moment as a Jay.

Unfortunately for the Jays and Bautista, his offensive output began tailing off significantly the next season. At .234/.366/.452 with 22 long balls in 517 trips to the plate, Bautista logged above-average numbers in 2016, but they paled in comparison to his previous totals.

Thanks to his offensive decline and his inability to offer much value as either a defender or baserunner, he sat on the free agent market into last January until re-signing with the Blue Jays on a deal that guaranteed him $18MM this season and could have been worth another $37MM had he played out the options over the next two years. But Bautista sealed his fate in 2017 by hitting a mere .203/.308/.366 in 686 PAs and finishing with the majors’ seventh-worst fWAR among position players (minus-0.5). Along the way, he registered his worst strikeout and walk rates as a Jay (24.8 percent and 12.2 percent, respectively), his lowest ISO (.164), and his highest chase and swinging-strike rates (25.3 percent and 10.9 percent). Bautista also wasn’t the Statcast darling he had been in prior seasons, recording a paltry .304 expected weighted on-base average (via Baseball Savant) that nearly matched his actual wOBA (.301).

Judging by his stark dropoff in 2017, the upcoming winter figures to be far less lucrative for Bautista than the last one. Nevertheless, it won’t stop him from seeking another contract. Should Bautista land another deal, it probably won’t come from the Jays, though he told Davidi that he’d like to stay where is.

“All I can do is get ready for next season and be ready to contribute to the team that I’m with at that time,” Bautista said. “Right now I’m a Toronto Blue Jay, and that hasn’t changed. I’ve said it all along, this is where I want to be and finish my career. We’ll see what happens in the future. It’s out of my control now.”

AL East Notes: Warren, Orioles, Hernandez

By Steve Adams | September 28, 2017 at 6:34pm CDT

The Yankees plan to activate right-hander Adam Warren from the disabled list tomorrow, manager Joe Girardi told reporters (Twitter link via MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch). While the Yanks have a plenty formidable ’pen even without Warren thanks to the presence of Aroldis Chapman, Dellin Betances, David Robertson, Tommy Kahnle and Chad Green, Warren’s return will bring yet another high-quality arm to the Bronx on the eve of the postseason. In 56 1/3 innings in his first full season back with the Yankees, Warren has averaged 8.5 K/9 against 2.4 BB/9 with a 44.3 percent ground-ball rate en route to a 2.40 ERA.

A bit more out of the AL East…

MLB.com’s Britt Ghiroli runs down a number of questions facing the Orioles this offseason, including their oft-discussed Manny Machado dilemma (if one can even call it that; the O’s have given no indication that they’d even consider parting with the soon-to-be free agent on the offseason trade market). However, while they haven’t signaled a willingness to trade Machado, Ghiroli also writes that there’s yet to be any indication that the Orioles will try to lock him up on a long-term deal. Ghiroli also addresses needs in the rotation, balancing an “all or nothing” lineup and determining which young stars are certain future pieces for the team.
The Blue Jays aren’t expected to retain longtime right fielder Jose Bautista this offseason, writes Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com, making young Teoscar Hernandez’s huge September showing all the more important. Hernandez’s biggest obstacle, to date, has been his lack of plate discipline with the Jays. However, he’s drawn a pair of walks in his past couple of games, and manager John Gibbons said he’s been encouraged by a more measured approach to Hernandez’s plate appearances. “I’ve noticed a big change in his aggression at the plate,” said the skipper. “He’s still an aggressive hitter, but he’s not up there swinging at everything, which is key.” Hernandez is Toronto’s “most realistic” internal candidate to take over an everyday corner outfield spot in 2018, per Chisholm. Hernandez is hitting .282/.313/.667 with eight homers in just 83 plate appearances for the Jays since being called up earlier this month.

AL Notes: Cain, Rangers, Bautista, Tribe, Rays

By Connor Byrne | September 24, 2017 at 1:41pm CDT

The Rangers could emerge as suitors for Royals center fielder Lorenzo Cain if he reaches free agency in the offseason. Texas has “repeatedly” asked the Royals about Cain in the past, Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News reports. Still, considering the Rangers have pressing rotation issues that will require offseason spending, Fraley casts doubt on them forking over big money for Cain. While Rangers center fielder Carlos Gomez is also slated to hit the open market, they may have an in-house replacement lined up in Delino DeShields.

With right fielder Jose Bautista likely playing the final home game of his Blue Jays tenure on Sunday, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet looks back on the team’s 2008 acquisition of the now-franchise icon and some of his most memorable moments in Toronto. When the Jays picked up Bautista in a trade with the Pirates in August 2008 (for catcher Robinzon Diaz), they were merely looking for a stopgap at third base to fill in for the injured Scott Rolen. “I’m not trying to send the wrong message – this guy isn’t like Mike Schmidt,” then-Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi said. “He’s not going to come out here and hit 40 home runs. But he’s a guy that can hit double-digit home runs for us in a spot where right now we need some help.” Nine years later, Bautista ranks second in Jays history in homers (287), 22 of which have come this season. Unfortunately for both team and player, the 36-year-old’s once-magnificent production began dropping off significantly last season and has cratered in 2017. As an impending free agent, Bautista will move on to a new team or retirement over the winter.
Terry Pluto of cleveland.com revisits the 2014 trade in which the Indians acquired right-hander Mike Clevinger from the Angels for reliever Vinnie Pestano. Clevinger has turned into a valuable starter for the Tribe this season, but when the deal went down, he was a struggling 23-year-old at the High-A level who was still working back from a 2012 Tommy John procedure. Unsurprisingly, then, Clevinger was not the Indians’ initial target in talks with the Halos. “I don’t recall who we asked for first,” president Chris Antonetti told Pluto. “It wasn’t Mike.” Nevertheless, the Indians saw enough promise in Clevinger to think he could pan out. “He was striking out a hitter an inning (58 in 55 innings). We felt with some changes to his delivery, he could throw a little harder and get more depth on his breaking ball,” GM Mike Chernoff explained. “There were some ingredients for him to succeed.”
Rays catcher Wilson Ramos is one start away from increasing his 2018 salary from $8.5MM to $10.5MM, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times notes. Ramos needs to make 55 starts this year and not end up on the disabled list with a knee injury in order to collect that money, and it appears he’ll accomplish both feats. The Rays took a risk in signing the former National last winter after he suffered ACL and meniscus tears in his right knee with less than a week remaining in the 2016 regular season. Ramos didn’t debut with the Rays until June, and while he hasn’t come close to matching the stellar offensive and pitch-framing numbers he put up in Washington last year, he has gotten better at the plate as the season has advanced. Overall, the 30-year-old has hit .263/.293/.444 in 210 PAs.

AL East Notes: Tillman, Warren, Cobb, Donaldson, Jays

By Steve Adams | September 7, 2017 at 11:42pm CDT

The Orioles are pushing right-hander Chris Tillman back to the bullpen, as Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun writes. It’s the second move to the ’pen for Tillman this season, as he’ll be replaced by right-hander Gabriel Ynoa on Sunday. As Encina notes, the Orioles’ rotation is devolving into a veritable game of musical chairs, with the struggles of Tillman, Ubaldo Jimenez and Jeremy Hellickson all creating uncertainty as the team tries to hang around in a tight AL Wild Card race. It’s certainly possible that Tillman finds his way back into the rotation mix; Jimenez was only just recently bumped to the bullpen but will now return to start on Monday. Tillman has been dealing with soreness in his right wrist, per Encina, though he said the apparently minor issue hasn’t impacted him on the mound. It’s been a nightmarish season for Tillman, who has long been the most consistent member of the Orioles’ staff. His free-agent stock has already taken a massive hit in 2017, and a move to the ’pen doesn’t do him any favors, as it minimizes his chances to demonstrate improvement in the final few weeks.

Quick Hits: Colon, Upton, D’Backs, Piscotty, Blue Jays, Anderson

By Mark Polishuk | August 20, 2017 at 10:38pm CDT

Bartolo Colon was the winning pitcher in the Twins’ 12-5 win over the Diamondbacks today, giving the 44-year-old another distinction in the record books. Colon became the 18th pitcher in baseball history to record at least one win against all 30 big league teams. The veteran righty was 0-2 in four previous career starts against the D’Backs, but he finally notched that elusive win in his 20th MLB season. While expansion doesn’t appear to be in the league’s immediate plans, we also probably shouldn’t entirely rule out the ageless Colon’s chances of eventually defeating a 31st team.

Here’s some more from around the American League…

Justin Upton tells MLB.com’s Jason Beck and other reporters that he hasn’t “really even thought about” whether or not to opt out of his Tigers contract. Upton is focused on finishing the season, and will then take some downtime before discussing the opt-out with his agent and his family “probably a week or two beforehand” when a decision will need to be made. One factor will be whether or not the Tigers will look to contend or rebuild in 2018, and Upton intends to speak to GM Al Avila, who the outfielder feels has “been pretty up front with all the veteran guys here with his plans” to date. Recent reports suggested that Upton wasn’t planning on opting out of the four years and $88MM remaining on his Tigers deal, though given that Upton is enjoying an outstanding season, he could potentially top that guarantee if he re-entered the open market. MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes recently ranked Upton as having the sixth-highest earning power of any potential free agent of the 2017-18 offseason.
Barring injury, Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen doubts the team will make any significant August waiver trades, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports. “We’re still watching the waiver market through the month of August but I’m not anticipating that there’s going to be major changes outside of what’s in this organization,” Hazen said.
The Cardinals recalled Stephen Piscotty from Triple-A as their 26th man for their special Little League Classic matchup with the Pirates, though Cards president of baseball operations John Mozeliak told MLB.com’s Jennifer Langosch and other reporters that Piscotty may stick with the club beyond just today’s action. Piscotty has battled injuries and struggled to the tune of a .232/.340/.362 slash line over 291 PA, which led to his demotion earlier this month. It remains to be see how St. Louis would juggle right field playing time between Piscotty, fellow underachiever Randal Grichuk and promising rookie Jose Martinez.
The Blue Jays started Josh Donaldson at shortstop and Jose Bautista at third base today, and while the lack of a DH for their interleague series at Wrigley Field played a role in the unusual lineup, manager John Gibbons told MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm and other media that “you may see them out there together again.” Bautista has some past experience at the hot corner, while Donaldson’s first three career games at short all came during this three-game series with the Cubs. This lineup shuffle, if more regularly made, would allow Nori Aoki or Ezequiel Carrera (or a September outfield callup) to see more time in Bautista’s usual spot in right field, and the Jays could then bench one of the light-hitting middle infield duo of Ryan Goins and Darwin Barney.
Brett Anderson is again going through the process of joining a new team and recovering from another injury, though the veteran southpaw tells Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi that he is still hopeful of becoming a healthy and productive member of a rotation. “It’s a gift and curse that I like baseball enough to keep doing this,” the 29-year-old Anderson said. “I’m not super old by any stretch, but I’ve been around for a while, and hopefully I’ve pushed a button and I age in reverse, got all that stuff out of the way before I’m 30, and have some healthy years going forward.” Davidi’s piece also notes that the Blue Jays have long been intrigued by the lefty’s potential, nearly acquiring Anderson as part of a three-team deal with the A’s and Rangers in the 2013-14 offseason, though issues with Anderson’s physical scuttled Toronto’s interest.

Jose Bautista On Revocable Trade Waivers

By Steve Adams | August 3, 2017 at 8:59am CDT

The Blue Jays have placed right fielder Jose Bautista on revocable trade waivers, reports MLB Network’s Ken Rosenthal (on Twitter).

As we emphasized yesterday when Justin Verlander was reportedly put through the same process, Bautista’s placement on revocable waivers isn’t at all surprising. Most players will be placed on revocable waivers this month, but the timing of such moves are at least worth noting, as it gives some insight into the point at which a player can be marketed to other clubs (or can no longer be marketed, in the event that they’re claimed and pulled back). Bautista’s waiver period will last 47.5 hours, and his salary makes him a virtual lock to clear. If and when he does clear, the Jays will be able to discuss trades involving Bautista with all 29 other teams, free of restriction.

[Related: How August Trades Work]

Like Verlander, Bautista has full no-trade protection. As such, he could reject not only any trade that the Blue Jays present him but also another team’s claim off of trade waivers (however unlikely that scenario might be).

The 36-year-old Bautista is hitting just .216/.325/.381 with 16 homers thus far in 2017. While he looked every bit of his vintage self in May, slashing a Herculean .317/.412/.644 that month, he’s batted .200 or lower with an OPS of .638 or lower in each of April, June and July. With $5.9MM remaining on this season’s $18MM salary, plus a $500K buyout of a 2018 mutual option still owed to him, Bautista looks immovable unless the Blue Jays are willing to pay down some of the remaining money on that contract.

The Jays may well seek to do that, but Bautista will likely need to show some signs of life at the plate before any club expresses interest. There should be no shortage of corner bats available this month after so few moved off the market prior to the non-waiver trade deadline, so teams on the lookout for such players will have options that are more productive and less expensive than Bautista.

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