PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Phillies have added slugger Jose Bautista in a trade with the New York Mets, according to multiple reports.
Bautista, 37, hit .204 with nine homers after signing a prorated veteran minimum contract with the Mets in May. The Phillies claimed him Monday on revocable waivers, and worked out a deal with the Mets just before the waivers expired, according to a MLB.com report.
The slugger is best-known for his 10-year run as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays, where he hit 288 of his 342 career home runs. Bautista is still effective against left-handed pitchers, reaching base at a .362 clip against them this year, MLB.com reports.
But Bautista is hitting just .157 this month.
Although the non-waiver Trade Deadline passed July 31, teams can still trade players after that date if they pass them through revocable waivers. Claimed players, such as Bautista, can be dealt only to the claiming team. Unclaimed players can be traded anywhere.
The caveat is that traded players are only eligible for the postseason with their new team if they’re already in that organization before Sept. 1, making Friday a de facto second trade deadline. It is rare that clubs out of the postseason picture acquire veterans on waiver deals.
