Philadelphia Phillies: Jose Bautista not ready to call it a career

Despite a very tumultuous season, Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Jose Bautista is not ready to call it a career.

One could understand if Jose Bautista was looking to retire after his 2018 campaign. Unable to find a taker for his services, he signed late, inking a deal with the Atlanta Braves on April 12. Brought up to the majors, he lasted 12 games before being released on May 20. Two days later, he signed with the New York Mets, where he found some modicum of success. Bautista played well enough for the Philadelphia Phillies to acquire him on August 28, a power bat to fill out their bench for the stretch run.

Despite his tour of the NL East, and his relative struggles this season, Bautista is not ready to call it a career. Instead, he intends on playing in 2019, preferring to suit up for a contender next season.

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Once one of the most feared sluggers in the game, Bautista is not close to being that player any longer. Between his three stops this season, he has produced a somewhat peculiar .199/.340/.370 batting line, hitting 12 homers and 18 doubles. He has still displayed a decent batting eye, drawing 62 walks in 385 plate appearances; however, he has also struck out 107 times this season.

This season has also seen a continuation of several disturbing trends for Bautista. While his walk rate has been at its usually solid levels, his power and strikeout rates are trending the wrong way. In 2015, Bautista homered in 6.0% of his plate appearances, a number that has steadily dropped to 3.1% this season. Likewise, his strikeout rate has increased from 15.9% in 2015 to 27.8% this year.

There is still a chance that Bautista can latch on to a team next year. He has managed to somehow post a nearly league average 99 OPS+, mainly due to his ability to still draw a walk. And, he does have that capability to still hit the occasional homer. But will that be enough to earn a contract somewhere?

Jose Bautista wants to play for a contender in 2019. The Philadelphia Phillies aging outfielder may need to be content with whatever offer comes along, if any do, this offseason.