Blue Jays Officially Shut Down Jose Bautista

Aug 17, 2013; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Toronto Blue Jays right fielder Jose Bautista (19) slides into home plate and scores a run during the third inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

With the days dwindling away toward the end of the 2013 baseball season, there is nary a mystery surrounding the Toronto Blue Jays as they inch toward oblivion. One of those few items left be decided came to a finality on Wednesday when the team officially shutdown slugger Jose Bautista for the remainder of the season.

The Toronto right fielder has been on the 15-day disabled list since August 21st, a day after leaving a game against the New York Yankees with a bone bruise on his hip.

The thought at the time was that Bautista would need only a few days of rest, telling the USA Today ““I am about 70 percent. I don’t think I’m doing the team any favors by playing with it right now.” However, as the days went on and Bautista failed to resume baseball activities, it became apparent that he just was not going to get well enough to bear the risk during another lost season.

For the second consecutive season, the 32-year-old slugger will finish the year on the disabled list. He closes out the 2013 campaign with another solid year at the plate, posting a .259 average with 28 home runs, 73 RBI, and a .856 OPS. In his fourth consecutive All-Star season, Bautista posted a 4.1 WAR according to Baseball-Reference and 4.2 according to FanGraphs.

Like the team, Bautista will look to begin anew in 2014. He is under contract with the Blue Jays through the 2015 season and the team holds a $14 million option for the 2016 season.

One silver lining here. By moving Bautista to the 60-day DL, the team will have the ability to add another player to its 40-man roster, which could result in another promotion to the expanded roster.