According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, former Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista is planning on representing the Dominican Republic in the upcoming Olympic qualifiers. Furthermore, “Joey Bats” has been toeing the rubber as a pitcher with a mid-90’s fastball and a slider with tilt.
It appears that Bautista will be utilized primarily as a first baseman during the qualifiers but it will be interesting to see if he makes a mound appearance or two as a reliever.
During his early days in Toronto, Bautista was renowned for his arm, however, he never really fully regained the cannon following an arm injury attempting to throw out a runner at first base from right field.