The Braves on Wednesday announced that they've signed veteran slugger Jose Bautista to a one-year minor-league contract. While Bautista, age 37, has worked as a primary corner outfielder for the last several years, he'll try his hand at third base for the Braves, starting at their extended spring training complex.
Bautista isn't a stranger to the position. He spent significant time at third base as recently as 2011, and for his career he's logged more than 3,000 defensive innings at the hot corner. That said, Bautista's at a rather advanced age to be making the move to a more demanding position afield.
As for the bat, Bautista's coming off a 2017 season in which he put up a disappointing 76 OPS+ in 157 games for the Blue Jays. That said, he was productive in 2016 and enjoyed a 40-homer season in 2015. For his career, Bautista owns an OPS+ of 124 across parts of 14 big-league seasons. Along the way, he's tallied 331 home runs.
It's far from certain whether Bautista has anything left to offer a major-league roster, but this is a low-risk proposition for the Braves. Ryan Flaherty is presently their primary third baseman (and No. 9 hitter in the order), so it's not as though the bar is set terribly high in Atlanta.
