Philadelphia Phillies hope Jose Bautista helps final push for playoff spot

With September right around the corner, the Philadelphia Phillies hope acquiring Jose Bautista will provide an extra power hitter off the bench for their final playoff push.

Throughout the 2018 season, Jose Bautista was the last baseball player Philadelphia Phillies ever imagined rooting for since he was part of the Atlanta Braves before eventually joining the New York Mets.

Now, it looks like Phillies fans will have no other choice than to root for the veteran outfielder, that is if they want to see their beloved team continue to make a push for a playoff spot in the National League.

After talk was beginning to heat up earlier in the week about the possibility of coming to Philadelphia, the team officially acquired Bautista from New York on Tuesday, and all they had to give up was a player to be named later or cash, which seems worth it given the team’s position.

Overall on the season, Bautista’s numbers may not be anything to brag about (batting .196 with 11 home runs and 42 RBIs), but the Phillies hope to see Bautista provide some extra power hitting off the bench when needed.

Even though he’s failed to record a single hit in each of his last four games (0 for 10), Philadelphia fans remember well what Bautista was able to accomplish back on Aug. 16 to show he can still make an impact at his age.

During that game, Bautista looked unstoppable at times after finishing 3 for 4 with seven RBIs in what was an embarrassing outing by Philadelphia in which they went on to lose to New York 24-4, although they were able to win the second game of the double header later in the night.

Still, this performance by Bautista was most likely one of a few reasons behind Philadelphia’s reasoning to bring him on board this late in the season. And even though a performance like that one won’t happen often, just the thought of what Bautista could provide off the bench is a reason for excitement.

Phillies fans are well aware that despite having big bats in players like Rhys Hoskins and Carlos Santana, putting up the necessary runs on offense has been a struggle at times throughout the 2018 season.

Just look at how the Phillies have lost seven of their last nine games while falling 3.5 games back of the Braves in the race for the NL East lead, and it’s easy to understand they were willing to bring someone like Bautista on board.

Bautista may not see action every night, but if he can provide the necessary impact when called upon late in games off the bench, this will make the move even more worth it for Philadelphia during the final stretch of the regular season before playoffs.