Alex Anthopolous is giving Jose Bautista a chance

Joey Bats is BACK. But in Atlanta! Our old friend Alex Anthopolous, now the general manager of the Braves, has inked Jose Bautista to a one-year deal to play third base in Atlanta. Sure!

This is a hilarious match because, as you’ll probably remember unless you’ve completely blocked out all of last year’s largely unwatchable season, Jose got into some beef with the Braves. The Jays were down by a bunch, Jose crushed a bomb, and then he did this bat flip. As you’ll see in the responses to Atlanta’s tweet about the signing, fans aren’t all too keen on Bautista becoming a Brave.

The Braves are currently using Ryan Flaherty at third base, so it isn’t like Bautista is getting in the way of some hotshot rookie getting playing time. This is Anthopolous doing a favour to a player he’s very familiar with. Anthopolous showed faith in Bautista once before, inking him to a long-term deal after his random breakout season in 2010, and maybe Bautista will reward him yet again.

It would be Extremely Good Shit if Bautista regained form in Atlanta and then the Blue Jays acquired him at the trade deadline for their playoff push. Don’t you dare criticize my fantasy.

The Jays will host the Braves on June 19 and 20 and then they’ll travel to Atlanta on July 10 and 11.