CHICAGO — The Mets are working on a trade of outfielder Jose Bautista to the Phillies after Philadelphia claimed him Monday on revocable waivers, a source confirmed. The clubs have until Tuesday to work out a deal.
Bautista, 37, is batting .207 with nine home runs and a .724 OPS in 82 games since the Mets signed him to a prorated minimum contract in May. Although Bautista has helped the Mets patch together lineups on a daily basis, playing five positions, he is a pending free agent unlikely to return to New York. That gives the Mets little incentive to keep him as they look to give as many at-bats as possible to their younger players down the stretch.
CHICAGO — The Mets are working on a trade of outfielder Jose Bautista to the Phillies after Philadelphia claimed him Monday on revocable waivers, a source confirmed. The clubs have until Tuesday to work out a deal.
Bautista, 37, is batting .207 with nine home runs and a .724 OPS in 82 games since the Mets signed him to a prorated minimum contract in May. Although Bautista has helped the Mets patch together lineups on a daily basis, playing five positions, he is a pending free agent unlikely to return to New York. That gives the Mets little incentive to keep him as they look to give as many at-bats as possible to their younger players down the stretch.
For the Phillies, Bautista offers cheap right-handed bench power for the stretch run. The Mets previously sent infielder Asdrubal Cabrera to the Phils last month for pitching prospect Franklyn Kilome.
If Bautista, who also played for the Braves this season, is dealt, he would become just the third player to appear for three teams in one division in a single season, joining Kelly Johnson (Red Sox, Yankees and Orioles in 2014) and Bob Reynolds (Tigers, Indians and Orioles in 1975).
Best known for a 10-year run in Toronto that saw him rank second in Blue Jays history with 288 home runs, Bautista has gone deep 342 times overall in a 15-year career spent mostly with Toronto and Pittsburgh. He remains particularly effective against left-handed pitchers, reaching base at a .373 clip against them this year. But Bautista is hitting just .163 through 23 August games.
Although the non-waiver Trade Deadline passed July 31, teams can still trade players after that date if they pass them through revocable waivers. Claimed players, such as Bautista, can be dealt only to the claiming team. Unclaimed players can be traded anywhere.
The caveat is that traded players are only eligible for the postseason with their new team if they’re already in that organization before Sept. 1, making Friday a de facto second trade deadline. It is rare that clubs out of the postseason picture acquire veterans on waiver deals.
Anthony DiComo has covered the Mets for MLB.com since 2007. Follow him on Twitter @AnthonyDiComo, Instagram and Facebook.
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