Snitker says Bautista will be Braves' starting 3B

Jose Bautista will be the Atlanta Braves' starting third baseman when he finishes working off the rust in the minors, manager Brian Snitker said Monday, confirming that the longtime Toronto Blue Jays star will soon displace the red-hot Ryan Flaherty.

"He's going to play third when he comes up," Snitker told Gabriel Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "He's in good shape. That'd be what happens."

Bautista, who signed a minor-league deal with Atlanta last week, joined Triple-A Gwinnett on Monday following a two-game stint with the Braves' affiliate in the High-A Florida State League. He hasn't played third base regularly since 2010, spending the bulk of the last seven seasons in right field, but the 37-year-old looked sharp Monday, flashing the leather to start a slick 5-4-3 double play in the first game of Gwinnett's doubleheader.

Meanwhile, in his two games with the Florida Fire Frogs, Bautista went 2-for-7 (.286) at the plate with one double and a pair of walks.

"From what I've heard, he's close," Snitker said. "I think he needs to see some better pitching right now, in his eyes. That's why he's going to Triple-A."

When Bautista joins the big-league club, Flaherty will likely be relegated to a utility role despite his torrid start in 2018. Through 18 games, the 31-year-old leads the National League with a .362 batting average and has managed a .971 OPS across his 70 plate appearances.

Bautista, a six-time All-Star, is coming off a disappointing 2017 season in which he hit just .203/.308/.366 (76 OPS+) with 23 home runs and 27 doubles in 157 games with the Blue Jays.