Bautista to make Braves debut Friday

The Joey Bats era is about to begin in Atlanta.

The Braves called up Jose Bautista ahead of their series opener against the San Francisco Giants on Friday. Bautista, who signed a minor-league contract with the Braves on April 18, hit .250/.386/.361 in 10 games in Triple-A.

For most of his 14-year career, Bautista played the outfield, but with the young, up-and-coming Ronald Acuna locked in left field and Nick Markakis as the everyday right fielder, the 37-year-old was signed as a third baseman - a position he hasn't appeared at regularly since 2011 with the Toronto Blue Jays. He will start at the hot corner and bat fifth against the Giants.

After a slow offseason that saw several marquee names settle for contracts much later than anticipated, Bautista - who received better offers from other teams - decided on the Braves almost entirely due to his familiarity and relationship with former Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos.

Bautista joins a first-place Braves team in the midst of a five-game winning streak that has seen immediate contributions from top prospect Acuna (.382/.432/.706) and sophomore second baseman Ozzie Albies (.280/.324/.614).

Last season with the Blue Jays, Bautista hit .203/.308/.366 with 80 wRC+ and minus-0.5 WAR.