Blue Jays GM: Bautista didn't deserve suspension for brawl with Rangers

Jose Bautista made his case Thursday to have the one-game suspension he received for his role in that May 15 melee with the Texas Rangers overturned, and though Major League Baseball may end up rescinding the ban, Toronto Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said the 35-year-old never should've been suspended in the first place.

Bautista - who slid hard into second base after being plunked by Matt Bush and was then clocked in the face by Rougned Odor, triggering a benches-clearing fracas - wouldn't have been suspended for his illegal slide, Atkins said, but ended up receiving supplemental disciplne because he was punched by Texas' second baseman.

"It’s really disappointing to us to have gone through that and have felt so aggressively attacked by another team that he’s serving a suspension," Atkins told reporters Thursday, according to Sportsnet's Shi Davidi. "If the fight (with the Rangers) didn’t actually ensue, I don’t think he’s dealing with a suspension. It seems, though, to me at least and to the Toronto Blue Jays, the penalty for his slide was that Justin Smoak was out at first base. Major League Baseball and the players union are working really hard to come to a resolution as quickly as possible."

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Earlier this week, Odor appealed the eight-game suspension he received for slugging Bautista, though it's not yet clear when the league will announce a decision for either player.

"We felt attacked, no one felt attacked more than Jose did. You can argue that he was thrown at twice," Atkins said when asked if eight games was sufficient punishment for Odor. "We’re really glad that Jose was the person that was in the fire, because he handled himself so well once he was in the fire. He handled himself so professionally."