The Phillies acquired veteran outfielder Jose Bautista in a trade with the New York Mets on Tuesday, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
In exchange for the services of Bautista, Philadelphia is reportedly sending a player to be named later or cash to the New York per Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia. On Monday, Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic reported that the Phillies claimed Bautista on revocable trade waivers from the Mets, meaning that the two teams had 24 hours to complete a trade.
With Bautista now in the fold, this makes three trades that the Phillies have completed during the month of August in hopes of making a strong push towards the MLB postseason.
This season, the 37-year-old outfielder is struggling at the plate but will be a nice bat to have off the bench. In 342 plate appearances, Bautista is hitting .196/.339/.364 with 11 home runs and 42 RBI.
While his overall numbers are not impressive, the veteran slugger has played better over the last 14 games, hitting .213/.351/.362 with two home runs and 10 RBI. Not to mention, he also has an .OPS of .713, which should be a minor upgrade for the Phillies, who currently rank 23rd in the majors in .OPS with .715.
In addition to those things, the Phillies will be leaning on Bautista for the last month of the season as a power-hitting right-handed bat. Currently, first baseman Justin Bour is on the disabled list with an oblique strain.
The Phillies acquired Bour earlier this month from the Miami Marlins, in exchange for minor league pitcher McKenzie Mills. With Bour on the shelf, that should provide Bautista with a few pinch-hitting opportunities.
This season with both the Atlanta Braves and Mets, the former Toronto Blue Jay is having formidable success against right-handed pitchers rather than lefties.
Against right-handed pitchers, Bautista is hitting .206/.329/.367 with seven home runs and 30 RBI. Even though he might not be the great home run hitter that he once was, Bautista can still change the outcome of a game with one swing of the bat.
During last month’s non-waiver trade deadline, it was widely reported that the Phillies were looking to acquire a fourth outfielder with Aaron Altherr slumping and being demoted to Triple-A.
However, Philadelphia was not successful, as they could not get the likes of Joey Gallo, Curtis Granderson, Andrew McCutchen, or Adam Jones.
But maybe Bautista will be a better consolation prize for the stretch run, only time will tell. If the Phillies are able to make the playoffs, then Joey Bats will be on the roster, which is a nice option to have.
