Report: Mets, Phillies Discussing Bautista Trade After Outfielder Claimed Off Waivers

Jose Bautista
Photo credit USA TODAY Images
By WFAN.com

The Mets could soon be dealing Jose Bautista to the Phillies after their longtime rivals reportedly claimed him off revocable trade waivers. 

The teams have until Tuesday to complete a trade, according to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal, who broke the story Monday. WFAN baseball insider Jon Heyman reported that the Mets are telling the Phillies that Bautista won't be a giveaway and they expect a prospect in return. 

mets are telling Phillies that Jose Bautista isn't just a giveaway, that they won't let him go for nothing and they'll want a prospect back for him. understandable since his mets salary is the pro-rated minimum. @Ken_Rosenthal 1st reported that Phils got the claim on joey bats,

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) August 27, 2018

The Mets signed Bautista to a one-year deal in May, days after the Braves released the two-time American League home run champ. Bautista, 37, is batting .207 with nine homers and 37 RBIs since joining the Mets.

Earlier this decade, Bautista was one of the top sluggers in baseball. Playing for the Toronto Blue Jays, he clobbered 54 homers in 2010 and another 43 in 2011 --  both AL highs. For his career, the six-time All-Star has 342 home runs -- about two-thirds of which came from 2010-15. 

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But in recent years, Bautista's play has declined. He batted a career-low .203 in 2017 with Toronto, although he still hit 23 home runs. Overall this season, he is hitting just .199.

If he is indeed traded to Philadelphia, Bautista would have accomplished the rare feat of playing for three teams in the same division in the same season.

He also could be the second player the Mets have traded to the Phillies this season. Last month, they dealt infielder Asdrubal Cabrera in exchange for minor league relief pitcher Franklyn Kilome.

Philadelphia (70-60) trails the Braves by three games for the NL East lead. They are two games back of the Brewers for the second wild-card spot.