Atlanta Braves: Did Jose Bautista pass on a better offer?
The Atlanta Braves signed Jose Bautista earlier in the week to a minor league deal, however, it turns out he had a better offer from another team
The Atlanta Braves made an interesting signing this week by not only signing Jose Bautista to a minor league contract, but because they said he is going to play third base, a position he hasn’t played with any regularity since he played 48 games there in 2010. It turns out that Bautista passed on a better offer to sign with the Atlanta Braves.
Indians made a higher offer to Jose Bautista than the Braves did, sources tell SBN. Bautista’s relationship with Alex Anthopoulos was the deciding factor. CLE, ATL, one other club in it until the end.
— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) April 20, 2018
I can understand why Bautista made that decision. That prior relationship from the days with Toronto probably helped nudge Bautista into the direction of the Atlanta Braves. Bautista would have had a chance to play outfield though with Cleveland and maybe even DH, probably a better defensive situation at this point for Bautista at this point in his career.
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The Atlanta Braves have had some trouble with third base in recent years. They even moved Freddie Freeman over to the hot corner for a bit last year when Matt Adams was swinging it well. Johan Camargo is probably best served as a utility infielder as is Ryan Flaherty even with his .352 start going into last night’s action.
Top prospect Austin Riley just reached AA this season and even though he is off to a .408 start with a 1.259 OPS, it’s not realistic for him to be in the majors quite yet. He is the third baseman of the future and an infield of him, Dansby Swanson, Ozzie Albies and Freeman moving forward, along with the pitching prospects the Atlanta Braves have and that Ronald Acuna guy, should give the fan base hope moving forward.
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Anything the Atlanta Braves get out of Jose Bautista this year is a bonus. If he comes up, plays well and the club is out of it, they may even get a prospect for him. This was a no risk signing for the Atlanta Braves and lucky for them, Bautista may have taken less to be there.