Anthopoulos optimistic Bautista will join Braves before long

The Atlanta Braves are confident Jose Bautista can get up to speed quickly, general manager Alex Anthopoulos said Thursday, roughly 24 hours after signing the six-time All-Star to a minor-league contract.

"I don't expect his stint in the minor leagues to be long," Anthopoulos said during an appearance on Sportsnet 590 The FAN's "Baseball Central Thursday." "We're going to work with him on the program. We can make a decision pretty fast. We're optimistic he's going to have an opportunity to come up."

Bautista, who was signed to play third base despite receiving only the occasional start at his old position in recent years, will get his feet wet at extended spring training, Anthopoulos said, and then start getting into some games in the High-A Florida State League. If all goes well, Bautista, 37, should join the Braves in short order.

"If he looks good and is playing well and we’re optimistic and encouraged, it should be a short stay and we'll get him up here," Anthopoulos said. "If for whatever reason it doesn’t work out that way we’ll have a very candid conversation but I'm optimistic that he’s going to find his way here soon."

After signing a one-year, $18.5-million contract last winter to stay with the Toronto Blue Jays, Bautista stumbled through his worst season in more than a decade, managing -0.5 WAR with a .674 OPS (80 wRC+) and 23 home runs in 157 games.

For much of his illustrious run with the Blue Jays, however, Bautista - who smashed a career-high 54 homers in 2010 during Anthopoulos' first season as Toronto's general manager - was considered one of the game's premier hitters, posting a .945 OSP (156 OPS+) and averaging 38 homers per season from 2010-15.