Atlanta Braves release Jose Bautista, so what’s next?

It’s hard to fault the attempt, but this was an experiment that just didn’t really ever gain any traction.

The third base position is – once again – in a state of flux for the Atlanta Braves as Jose Bautista was released on Sunday.  Now the question is this:  where to go from here?

Bautista was given a ‘solid’ by former boss Alex Anthopoulos in signing him originally, and then again by bringing him to the majors, but it was most certainly going to be an uphill climb as Bautista had three strikes against him before ever getting started:

• 37-1/2 years old
• A record of declining performance over the past 3 seasons… even taking a 40 HR performance in 2015 into account
• A ‘new’ position – having not played 3rd base with any kind of regularity in years.

I admit wondering – having just watched the conclusion of Sunday’s epic comeback win – where Bautista would have been in this lineup and whether any comeback would have happened had he not been released.

Perhaps that thought isn’t fair – you truly never know what might have transpired once you change the equation that much.  But the fact is that Bautista simply wasn’t doing what had been hoped:  providing lineup protection for Freddie Freeman.

Sure:  he ran into 2 homers over 40 plate appearances.  But besides that were just 2 singles and a double… with 12 strikeouts against 5 walks for a .143 average.

The only other hitter on the team this season with at least 20 PA doing worse?  Peter Bourjos.

In fact, out of 380 batters in the majors matching his 40 PA or more, Bautista’s batting average ranked 369th.

That explains Bautista’s loss of playing time recently… and his defense wasn’t exactly keeping him in the lineup either.

Alex Anthopoulos explained the move to the media today… and it appeared that he was pained to even report the news (in strong contrast to the body language he exhibited during Friday’s interview session).  It’s clear that he wanted this signing to work… and it’s a disappointment to all concerned that it didn’t happen.

It would be easy to pile on here and declare ‘I told you so’ based on earlier comments on this subject.  But that would be wrong.  Bautista is a pro and has enjoyed an excellent career.  The photo used for this piece is from what could be his last jog around the bases – May 14th at Wrigley Field.

I won’t fault him for trying once more and I won’t fault the Braves for giving him the opportunity.  He deserves that respect for the effort.