Atlanta Braves: Jose Bautista Lands With Division Rival
By Kit Anderson
The Atlanta Braves made the right decision moving on from their former third baseman Jose Bautista. Fortunately for the Braves, Bautista decided to sign with a division rival.
Jose Bautista was a big swing and a miss for the Atlanta Braves. Pretty much all Bautista did in his time in Atlanta was swing and miss. Watching him it became very obvious he didn’t have anything left in the tank.
He was cut from the Braves and didn’t have to wait long to find a job. The New York Mets signed Bautista to a one-year Major League deal.
The Mets are hurting, dealing with a lot of injuries and Bautista will earn a chance to be in and out of the lineup because of it.
Adding a strikeout-prone aging slugger to a lineup full of strikeout-prone aging sluggers doesn’t help the Mets whatsoever.
For Bautista, it is a chance to extend his career and prove he does have something left in his tank. If he doesn’t produce with the Mets it is hard to see him earning another opportunity.
Johan Camargo is now the starting third baseman for the Braves and doing a better job than Jose Bautista. Camargo is likely just a bridge to a trade target or Austin Riley.
Bautista was thought to be that bridge but wasn’t good in the field and inconsistent at the plate. He often was taking ugly swings and putting the ball in play with very weak contact.
For the Braves it doesn’t hurt their team at all for Jose to land with a division rival. If anything he will make their lineup worse not better.
The Braves have their work cut out for them this weekend. The Boston Red Sox and Atlanta Braves will square off this weekend in a gut check series for the Braves.