Mets sign recently-cut Jose Bautista to MLB deal

NEW YORK (AP) -- The Mets have signed free agent Jose Bautista, getting the former home run champion two days after he was cut by the Atlanta Braves.

They made the move before playing Miami on Tuesday night. The team said he was available for the game, but he was not in the starting lineup they posted.

New York listed Bautista as an outfielder. He played only third base in his short stint with Atlanta, starting at the spot eight times. He hit .143 (5 for 35) with two home runs and five RBIs, and fared well against left-handed pitchers.

The 37-year-old Bautista signed for the $545,000 major league minimum. He hit .203 with 23 homers and 65 RBIs in 157 games last season with Toronto, and went unsigned as a free agent during the winter.

Bautista is a six-time All-Star, and led the AL with 54 homers in 2010 and 43 in 2011. He has hit at least 20 home runs in each of the past eight seasons.

The Mets optioned infielder-outfielder Phillip Evans to Triple-A Las Vegas.

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