Phillies Trade For Mets Veteran Jose Bautista

PHILADELPHIA, PA — The Phillies have added a powerful bench bat for the postseason push in a trade with the Mets, as they acquired veteran outfielder Jose Bautista early Tuesday afternoon.

The move, first reported by the New York Post's Joel Sherman on Twitter, will cost the Phillies either cash or a player to be named later.

On the surface, the deal might seem puzzling: Bautista, 37, does not offer much in the way of defense, and the Phillies already have four superior outfielders in Rhys Hoskins, Roman Quinn, Odubel Herrera, and Nick Williams. However, Bautista was likely acquired to be used almost exclusively as a bench bat, a pinch hitter to be utilized in high leverage, late-inning situations where a solo home run or sacrifice fly could make all the difference. The team acquired Marlins first baseman Justin Bour - now on the disabled list - for much the same purpose before the July non-waiver trade deadline.

Bautista has had a star-studded career, mostly as a Blue Jay, earning six straight All-Star nods from 2010 through 2015. He finished third in the MVP voting in 2011, and came in the MVP running in four of those six years. He slugged 40 home runs as recently as 2015.

Though his overall numbers have declined greatly in the past two years, Bautista still shows a propensity for power, much like Ryan Howard or Albert Pujols in their final years. He's logged 245 at bats in 2018 playing for both the Braves and the Mets, hitting 11 home runs but batting only .196.

Bautista was claimed by the Phillies off revocable trade waivers by the Mets yesterday, and the two sides spend the next half a day finalizing the deal.

It's the second trade between the Mets and the Phillies this summer after the Phils acquired shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera on July 27.

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