Heyman | Mets agree to deal with Jose Bautista

The New York Mets and free agent outfielder/third baseman Jose Bautista have agreed to a deal, sources confirm to FRS Sports. Anthony DiComo of MLB.com was the first to report a deal between the two sides was close.

Bautista, 37, was released by the Braves over the weekend just barely more than a month after signing with the team. He appeared in 12 games for Atlanta, going 5-for-35 (.143) with two home runs and five RBI.

The move makes sense for a Mets team currently hobbled at both of Bautista’s positions, with outfielder Juan Lagares out for the year and Yoenis Cespedes hobbled, and third baseman Todd Frazier on the DL.

Bautista, who’d spent the last nine-pus seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays, went through the entire winter and spring and into the season’s first month without getting a deal after his contract with Toronto expired at the end of last season, one in which the six-time All-Star hit just .203/.308/.366 with 23 home runs and 65 RBI. The triple-slash line marked his lowest numbers across the board since his early days with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Kansas City Royals and others.

Bautista struggled early in his career with the Orioles, Rays, Pirates and Royals before turning himself into a perennial All-Star and MVP candidate in Toronto, perhaps best known for his iconic bat flip during Game 5 of the 2015 ALDS.

Jon Heyman is an MLB Insider for the FRS Sports Network, the home for his breaking news, information and his weekly Inside Baseball column on FRS Baseball. Heyman also has been an insider at MLB Network since the channel launched in 2009. Heyman previously worked for CBS Sports, Sports Illustrated, Newsday in New York and Sporting News, among other outlets. Heyman is a graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. The Santa Fe, New Mexico native grew up in Cedarhurst, New York, on Long Island.