Report: Phillies Awarded Waiver Claim on Jose Bautista
The Phillies may not be done making moves yet. After already infielder Asdrubal Cabrera, first baseman Justin Bour, and left-handed relievers Aaron Loup and Jose Avilan, the Phillies are still active in trying to add to their roster. One such player may be a player the team has long coveted: Jose Bautista.
According to Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic, the Phillies have been awarded a waiver claim for Bautista. Andy Martino, formerly of the Philadelphia Inquirer and now of SNY television, reports that it is likely that the two sides will get a deal done. The move would give Phillies a veteran right-handed bat off of the bench.
While Bautista is not the super star he once was for the Toronto Blue Jays, he has found himself a home in New York as a bench player. Bautista has played left field, right field, first base, second base and third base for the Mets. After a long career in which he settled into right field, Bautista returned to third base for the Braves to start 2018 and has seen action there for the Mets.
The Phillies have long been rumored to be interested in Bautista.
Back in 2013, there were rumors of a swap involving Domonic Brown being sent to Toronto for Bautista. At the time, it seemed like that deal would heavily favor the Toronto Blue Jays. The Blue Jays ended up signing Brown as a minor league free agent.
Even back in the Ed Wade era, the Phillies were once said to be looking into Bautista, then of the Kansas City Royals. Bautista was with three different teams in 2004 and settling with the Pittsburgh Pirates before his eventual trade to Toronto in 2008.
Bautista is batting just .199 in 2018, including .207 for the Mets. He has 11 home runs in 277 at bats. Bautista has a .708 OPS in 2018. Lifetime, Bautista has 349 home runs in 1770 career games played.
The waivers are revocable waivers, meaning the Mets can pull them back. But with some young players ready to get a look in September, the Mets may be content in letting the Phillies have Bautista for minor compensation.