Phils Get Joey Bats in Trade, But Why?

Jose (aka Joey Bats) Bautista, perhaps best known in these parts for challenging the Phillie Phanatic to a fitness duel, is a now a member of the Philadelphia Phillies. He was acquired in a trade with the New York Mets for a player to be named later (I love that guy) and cash considerations.

The question I have for Phillies management about this deal is WHY? Bautista isn't very good. In fact, he's pretty awful. He only lasted 12 games with the Braves before they cut him loose this spring. He spent 83 games with the also awful Mets. How bad is Bautista? He's hitting .196 with 11 HR and 43 RBI and an OPS of .703. To make room on the roster for Bautista, the Phillies released Mark Leiter Jr.

Did I mention Bautista is bad? Cause he is. His last good year was 2015 when he hit 40 homers with 114 RBI and a .913 OPS. But injuries and the calendar caught up to him in recent years. In 368 games from 2016 to 2018, he's hitting .212 with a .728 OPS and 56 HR. And his OBP is a pedestrian .334 in that span.

Bautista is here as a bench bat, I guess. I hope that's the case, anyway. They want him to be a right-handed, uninjured Justin Bour as a pinch-hitter. Maybe GM Matt Klentak thinks the thrill of a fading pennant race will rejuvenate the 37-year-old. But remember this–Bautista is cooked. He's awful now.

This season was supposed to be all about the youth. But then Klentak signed Carlos Santana forcing Rhys Hoskins to the outfield, where he's never played before. They gave up on slumping Scott Kingery, owner of a 6-year contract, and replaced him with another Mets retread, Asdrubel Cabrera, who, by the way, is hitting .196 with a .510 OPS in his last 14 games. But did they do anything to improve the young, stuggling starting trio of Nick Pivetta, Zach Eflin, and Vince Velasquez? Nope. They could have picked up Cole Hamels or JA Happ. Hamels, by the way is 4-0 with an ERA under 1 for the Cubs. How good would Hamels look on the mound instead of any of those youngsters?

These moves are frustrating as hell. They're willing to take on offensive retreads well past their prime, but unwilling to make a deal for the likes of Hamels? What gives?

At this point, I'd rather see Kingery play than Cabrera. Kingery, like it or not, is the future. Might as well let him get some pennant race experience. His numbers are better than the dirty ex-Met.