Jose Bautista in talks with ‘several’ teams?

With Opening Day coming this week, Jose Bautista is apparently now in demand.

A slow MLB offseason left a lot of free agents unsigned into spring training. Jose Bautista remains available, with Opening Day three days away, but according to ESPN’s Marly Rivera “Joey Bats” is in talks with several teams about a one-year deal.

Bautista hit 23 home runs over 157 games for the Toronto Blue Jays last year, but he posted a dismal .203/.308/.366 slash-line and he’s a statue in right field. Over the last two seasons, he has a .216/.333/.402 slash-line with 45 home runs over 1,203 plate appearances.

Bautista came out of nowhere to hit a major league-leading 54 home runs for the Blue Jays in 2010, and he followed up with 43 home runs in 2011. Of course the performance-enhancing drug speculators came out in full force, but after missing some time in 2012 and 2013 Bautista rebounded with at least 35 home runs and over 100 RBI in both 2014 and 2015. Over that six-season sample, Bautista averaged 38 home runs and 97 RBI per season with a cumulative OPS of .945.

Rivera’s report mentions two teams specifically, among the “several.”

The Rays have been mentioned as fit for Bautista, and Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reported a month ago that Bautista was “keenly interested” in them. The Braves are a far more strained fit, with Bautista adding no value defensively and surely becoming strictly a bench bat. If Atlanta signs him, their decision to send top prospect Ronald Acuna to Triple-A to start the season will look even more curious.

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Exactly what number Bautista or his agent would define as “several” is unknown, but it implies more than two. Any interested teams to fill that gap in count would have to be in the American League, where any value Bautista has left can be best cultivated as a DH.