Following his release by the Atlanta Braves, Jose Bautista was signed by the New York Mets on Tuesday and made his first career start with the team the same day. Bautista went 1-for-3 with a double and scored the only run in the Mets’ loss to the Miami Marlins while batting 5th in the lineup.

New York had optioned Phillip Evans to Triple-A Las Vegas to make room for Bautista on their 25-man roster.

Jose Bautista was released by the Atlanta Braves on Sunday following a rough patch consisting of a .593 OPS with 2 home runs in 40 plate appearances. Luckily for Bautista, he has quickly found a new home with the New York Mets. The Mets were rumored to have been interested in Bautista since Monday (a day after his release) and pounced at the opportunity to sign the former star slugger.

The 2018 season has not been kind to Jose Bautista who has thus far hit a horrendous .143 with 5 hits, 2 home runs, 5 RBI, 3 runs, and a -0.3 WAR in 25 at-bats. Hopefully, for Bautista’s sake, he will hit better than last year’s .202 in 157 games.

Overall, this wasn’t that bad of an idea on the Met’s part. The team needs third base and outfield depth after losing Todd Frazier, Yoenis Cespedes, and Juan Lagares to injuries. Bautista is not going to return to All-Star form, but the Mets will get a solid power bat in the heart of their order as well as a glove wherever it is needed. This could possibly be Bautista’s last shot to keep his career alive, so it is crucial to him that he performs exceedingly well over the course of the next few weeks.