So far, so good for reborn Bautista

Ex-Jays star finds niche with talented Braves

The locker in the visitors clubhouse at Tropicana Field is double sized, just as it was for Jose Bautista when he reigned over the room as one of the most popular players in Blue Jays history.

It is early in his post-Toronto baseball life, but the sixtime all star is already being treated with the appropriate reverence and respect by his new team, the Atlanta Braves.

And if going through a winter with no specified future in the game has humbled Bautista, the 37-year-old native of the Dominican Republic isn’t about to show it.

Sure, he’s working on a pro-rated contract of US$1 million after making $18 million in his final year with the Jays. And sure, he’s still got to prove his worth to remain with the young and surprising Braves, who entered Monday’s play in first place in the National League East.

But betting on Bautista after one so-so season in Toronto was a gamble the one executive who knows him as well as anybody in baseball was willing to make.

A return to the big leagues was enabled in part because of Bautista’s ties with former Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos, the man who gave him a shot at minimal risk to his new team. But it was mostly enabled by Bautista himself, a dedicated professional who stubbornly believed he wasn’t finished.

“I don’t feel like I was ever away,” Bautista told Postmedia. “I just took my time to evaluate the situation I was coming into. I’m extremely happy and excited to be with the Braves and looking forward to the challenge of this new ball club.”

“Jose we know is going to work hard, be prepared and have himself in great shape and take a shot,” Anthopoulos said. “Like we said, it was minimal risk and a lot of upside if it does click for him. I think Jose understood that with the year he had last year, the money was going to be slight in free agency.

“But there’s upside for him as well.”

Because Bautista demands so much of himself, he was naturally disappointed with the drastic downturn in performance in 2017. The deeper the funk, the harder it was to climb out, a task made harder by the Jays’ overall performance.

But a career-ender? Bautista never thought so.

“It was a bad season and it is what it is,” said Bautista, who made his fourth start of the season here on Monday. “Baseball has its ups and downs. I’m a ballplayer and I know this is a game of adjustments. I just didn’t make them last year. Other than that it’s business as usual with me.

“I knew that with Alex I would be going somewhere where my value, my skills and what I brought to the table were valued,” Bautista said. “What they have going on here is a great group of young players who are playing with a lot of energy and tremendous upside.”

Bautista figures to be a positive influence on the young Braves, who turned heads recently when they had 20-year-old Ronald Acuna Jr., 21-year-old Ozzie Ablies and 20-year-old Canadian-born pitcher Mike Soroka in the lineup on one night.

But the relationship works both ways with the potential of invigorating Bautista, as well. “It’s a different type of energy and hopefully it just gets to rub off on me,” Bautista said.

Bautista was signed as a third baseman, though was a designated hitter against the Rays, as he will be whenever the Braves visit an AL park. Though Jays fans know him as a right fielder, he has played the hot corner 394 times in his career, including eight last season.