José Bautista, 37, is a Dominican professional baseball right fielder and third baseman. He has played in the MLB for 14 seasons for the Baltimore Orioles, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Kansas City Royals, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Toronto Blue Jays. “Joey Bats” has been an MLB All-Star selection six consecutive times, he has won three Silver Slugger Awards and two Hank Aaron Awards.
In April 2018, he signed a one year, minor-league deal with the Atlanta Braves. The Braves say Bautista has reported to their extended spring training complex and he will play third base for the team.
José Bautista Net Worth As Of 2018: $35 Million
Like many others, this off-season the former Toronto Blue Jays slugger struggled to find a landing spot and settled with Atlanta on a minor-league contract. He will reportedly make $1 million should he reach the majors.
Early Life
Born in the Dominican Republic, Bautista attended a private high school, De La Salle High School, in Santo Domingo. He was recruited by the MLB coming out of school and tried out for several teams. He accepted an offer from the Cincinnati Reds for $300,000, but before the contract was finalized, ownership changed and the offer was rescinded. Bautista made a highlight tape of himself using a camcorder to send to U.S. colleges. Unfortunately for him, no one bit. He eventually ended up playing at Chipola College, a junior college in Marianna, Florida. There, Bautista played for two years until being drafted.
2000-2007
The Pittsburgh Pirates drafted José Bautista in the 20th round of the 2000 MLB draft. After bouncing around several minor league teams, he made his MLB debut with the Baltimore Orioles on April 4, 2004. He quickly learned that the majors is a business and the players a commodity. In the 2004 season, Bautista was traded, traded, then traded some more. After it was all said and done, he appeared on five different MLB rosters, the first player to do so in one season. He settled down in Pittsburgh for the 2006 and 2007 seasons. He showed some promise there; during his two-year stint, he averaged a .245 BA while raking in 15 HRs and 56 RBIs.
2008-2016
José Bautista will always be remembered as a Toronto Blue Jay. It’s where he spent 10 seasons, grew as a player, and for an impressive stretch was one of the most dominant hitters in the league. He was also paid for his efforts. After his breakout 2010 season, the Blue Jays gave him a five-year contract extension worth $64 million before the 2011 season. He rode that out until 2017, where for the first time in almost a decade his future home field was uncertain.
2017-Present
After some negotiation, Bautista confirmed in January 2017 that he, who was 36-years-old at the time, would be returning to Toronto for one more season. He and the club agreed to a one year deal worth $18 million for the 2017 season. In August, Bautista reached the 20 home run mark for the eighth consecutive season. But other than his consistent long ball, Bautista struggled with his hitting. The Blue Jays officially declined his option to extend his contract at the end of the 2017 season. He remained unsigned into the 2018 season, while continually denying reports that he was going to retire. He proved the speculators wrong late in April, when he signed a one year, minor-league contract with the Atlanta Braves.