Apr 20, 2018
Bautista could be perfect fit for mild-mannered Braves
Former Blue Jays star gets a chance to extend his career in Atlanta with a young club that could use his edge, Steve Phillips writes.
The Atlanta Braves signed Jose Bautista to a minor-league deal on Wednesday. The former Blue Jays star will get paid at the rate of $1 million for his major-league service if he gets there. Bautista has reported to the Braves’ facility in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., to get in baseball shape before heading to a minor-league affiliate, most likely the Triple-A Gwinnett Stripers.
The most interesting aspect of the Bautista signing is that the Braves are looking at him as a third baseman, a position he hasn’t played regularly in years. In fact, he has only started 349 of his 1,444 MLB games at third base. Braves sources say they believe Bautista has the instincts, hands and arm strength to still play the position. He is athletic and has stayed in great shape. Plus, playing the hot corner won’t force him to have to run and cover so much ground in the outfield, which has proven to be more difficult for Bautista with age.
The Braves were the last team to get a homer from their third baseman this season after Ryan Flaherty hit one on Wednesday. Atlanta also has very little right-hand hitting power in the lineup. If Bautista can still play, he could be just what the doctor ordered.
Atlanta tried to make a similar deal with former Rockies infielder Mark Reynolds (30 homers/97 RBI in 2017) but he turned them down and signed with the Nationals instead.
The other area where Bautista could be a big help for the Braves is that they are a very mild-mannered, calm and nice team. They don’t have a single player that plays with an edge. Bautista could show the young club what that looks like.
Bautista is a known commodity for general manager Alex Anthopoulos. Sometimes it’s not who you are, it’s who you know. Based on his age (37) and his .203/.308/.366 slash line in 2017, Bautista needs a friend to give him real consideration.
Anthopoulos has been on his game with the Braves
Anthopoulos was hired last fall to run the Braves after the team dismissed John Coppolella for violating numerous international signing rules.
Anthopoulos was brought in to provide stability and integrity to the baseball department while continuing the rebuild of the organization. Despite penalties that included the forfeiture of 13 international prospects, strict restrictions on the international market over the next three years and the loss of their third-round pick for the 2018 draft, Anthopoulos inherited an organization loaded with young talent.
Admittedly, he has been cautious since taking over. He had a substantial learning curve because he didn’t know the players and staff very well. It was absolutely the right thing to do. When I was a general manager, I always called new executives that came to their new organization from the outside and tried to steal young prospects, hoping we knew the players better than he did.
Since the Braves are rebuilding, time is not of the essence. He just needs to be patient to let his young players grow up as men and players.
He did make one big move in the off-season, a trade with his former club, Dodgers. It was more of a money deal than a talent deal. He sent outfielder Matt Kemp (two years/$43 million) to L.A. for Adrian Gonzalez ($21.5 million), Brandon McCarthy ($12 million), Scott Kazmir ($15 million), Charlie Culberson ($575,00) and $4.5 million.
The deal effectively lumped the Braves’ two-year obligation to Kemp all into 2018. The Braves had financial flexibility and were in no jeopardy of going over the luxury tax threshold, while the moves also helped the Dodgers get below the threshold. It also allows the Braves to be a big player in the free-agent market for 2019 with its substantial class. The other benefit to Anthopoulos is that it cleared Kemp out of left field, creating a spot for young stud Ronald Acuna Jr.
Speaking of Acuna Jr., there has been so much speculation about when he will be called up to the majors. He proved in spring training (.432 with four homers) that he is just about ready to compete in the big leagues. He was sent down with the idea that he would be back after the Braves played enough games that he wouldn’t qualify for a full year of service in 2018, ensuring Atlanta would control him through the 2024 season instead of 2023.
But Acuna Jr. has struggled since the Triple-A season has begun. In response to the slow start for the future superstar, Anthopoulos has said it is just a matter of time. He wants the young man to string some good at-bats and games together, building his momentum and confidence when he is finally called-up. I would have handled it exactly the same way. Alex is on his game so far in his new home.
At the risk of burying the lead, look for the Braves to be players on Bryce Harper and Josh Donaldson in free agency this fall. Anthopoulos likes to make big deals and no two players would bring more of an edge than those two. They would instantly make the Braves competitors, if some of the young players develop this season. An outfield of Harper, Ender Inciarte and Acuna Jr. would be dynamic. So would an infield of Donaldson, Dansby Swanson, Ozzie Albies and Freddie Freeman.
Jays facing outfield decisions
The Blue Jays won’t likely bring back Donaldson or sign a big free agent like Bryce Harper, but they’re showing they can win right now without either. They’ve played solid baseball since Donaldson went on the DL to heal his sore shoulder.
The good news is that he will be back just when some of the hot bats start to cool off. He will be the boost they may need to sustain their high level of play. Timing is important during a 162-game season. Others have stepped up in his absence. Curtis Granderson and Steve Pearce have platooned and could be expected to hit in the leadoff spot. Kevin Pillar has been hot and Yangervis Solarte has been a leader with his performance and energy.
The biggest revelation has been Teoscar Hernandez’s play since his return to Toronto. In four games he has scored four runs and driven in six. He is hitting .429/.450/.829 and looks confident and capable since his call-up from Buffalo.
Hernandez is a fairly similar hitter to Randal Grichuk. Neither of them have great plate discipline. They both can swing and miss and chase pitches out of the zone. Grichuk (.088/.185/.228) is off to a horrific start, which is the story of his career. He’s a .185 career hitter in March/April. Hernandez seems to be able to make adjustments quicker than Grichuk.
The Jays are going to face a tough decision when Donaldson gets healthy. Do they stick with a hot Hernandez or send him back to the minors, maintaining their depth while giving key at-bats to a struggling Grichuk?
It would be nice to keep both Grichuk and Hernandez in Toronto, playing them in the two corners of the outfield. That would allow John Gibbons to use Granderson and Pearce as extra outfielders and as a platoon as the designated hitter. But the DH role belongs to Kendrys Morales. Because he is exclusively a DH, he bottles up the roster and takes away some of the flexibility that would allow Gibbons to get enough at-bats for everyone.
Ultimately, I would be open to keeping the players in Toronto that help me win now as opposed to protecting depth. The Jays are off to a good start. I wouldn’t want to jeopardize that by sending Hernandez down to the minors just to keep Grichuk in the majors. Grichuk doesn’t have any more options, so if he doesn’t fit on the Jays he can’t be easily sent to the minors. He would need to be traded or placed on waivers. Toronto may be more inclined to designate him for assignment and see if he could be traded before placing him on waivers, since he would likely get claimed.
These are good problems to have. Having too much talent and too many options is a far better place than not having enough. Ross Atkins and Mark Shapiro have put themselves in a much better place by building organizational depth.
Spitting Seeds
- Shohei Ohtani was removed after two innings in his last start against the Boston Red Sox because of a blister on the tip of his right middle finger. I understand that the different baseball in MLB has a chance to lead to a blister, but so does throwing 66 pitches in two innings of work. I would never want Ohtani left in to make that many pitches in such a short time. The Angels were going with a six-man rotation to protect Ohtani’s workload, but they have lost J.C. Ramirez, Matt Shoemaker and now Ohtani to injury. The six-man rotation is down to three. It remains to be seen how long Ohtani will be out of the rotation with his blister but it seems he will remain active as a hitter. This will force the Angels to play Albert Pujols at first base far more than he should, exposing him to the risk of injury. The Ohtani plan works when he and the other starters are healthy, but any change in status can throw off the offensive and pitching equilibrium. That is a problem.
- The Reds fired manager Bryan Price after a 3-15 start to the season. It feels like a quick move by management but, considering his 279-387 managerial record, it’s not a complete surprise. This was a year the Reds were looking for a step forward in the rebuilding process, but instead it feels like they have gone backward. The reality is the Reds didn’t have a managerial problem, they have a personnel problem. They have a subpar roster of talent. Their rotation is a collection of number four and five starters at best. Offensively, Joey Votto is their best hitter. He can hit for average, power and has great discipline. He’s one of the best hitters in the game despite his slow start. But the rest of the lineup is a collection of flawed hitters – some have power and some have speed but most don’t hit for average or get on base enough. So, timing becomes critical to their scoring runs. Former Reds’ Hall of Fame shortstop Barry Larkin is a leading candidate to become manager, along with former Yankee manager Joe Girardi and former Red Sox manager John Farrell, who is a scout for the Reds now.
- The Boston Red Sox are off to an amazing start with a 15-2 record. They are the first team since the 2003 San Francisco Giants to start 15-2, and just the seventh team since integration (1947) to begin the season with 15 or more wins in their first 17 games. Of those other six, two went on to win the World Series (1955 Brooklyn Dodgers and 1984 Detroit Tigers). Leading the way for the Red Sox is Mookie Betts. Betts hit three homers against the Angels on Tuesday night, which was the third three-homer game of his career to tie him with Ted Williams for the most all-time as a Red Sox player. He also became just the third player to have three three-homer games at the age of 25 or younger. The other two are Ralph Kiner and Boog Powell. Betts is proving he is one of the elite talents of the game.