PIRATES Bautista awaits trip to minors

All he wants is to play every day and get as many bats as he can.
BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) -- Unlike many young players coming off a full major league season, Jose Bautista is expecting to be cut this spring by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
He's also welcoming it.
After bouncing around the majors in 2004 as a Rule 5 draft pick, Bautista embraces a chance to spend this season in the minor leagues.
"All I'm looking forward to right now is playing every day and getting as many at-bats as possible," Bautista said Saturday. "That's all I want."
Bautista, a 24-year-old third baseman, didn't get that opportunity last season when he accumulated only 88 at-bats with four teams. He spent the last two months with the Pirates, who lost him in the Rule 5 draft the previous winter.
Still undetermined
The Pirates have not determined whether Bautista will open the year at Class AA Altoona or Class AAA Indianapolis.
"I don't care," Bautista said. "Anything is better than sitting on the bench and getting to bat once every two weeks."
Bautista will try to make up for what were essentially two lost seasons. In 2003, when he played in the Pirates' farm system at Class A Lynchburg, Bautista sat out much of the year with a broken hand and was limited to 188 at-bats.
"Plain and simple, he needs to stay healthy and play," Pirates general manager Dave Littlefield said. "Young players have to play."
Because of that injury, the Pirates didn't expect Bautista to be selected in the Rule 5 draft. But the Baltimore Orioles took a chance on him and kept him on their roster until May. When the Orioles released Bautista, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays claimed him off waivers. When the Devil Rays didn't have room on their roster, they traded Bautista to the Kansas City Royals in June.
The Pirates spent last summer trying to get Bautista back and they finally succeeded July 30, but only after the New York Mets acquired him from the Royals and sent him to Pittsburgh as part of the Kris Benson deal.
"It was a crazy year," Bautista said.
This past winter, the Pirates protected Bautista on their 40-man roster, avoiding another potential Rule 5 fiasco. The team hopes Bautista can remain injury-free and put the experience he gained last year from sitting on the bench to good use. The last time Bautista played regularly for a full season, he put up satisfactory numbers, batting .301 with 14 home runs and 57 RBIs at Class A Hickory in 2002.
"He's got some physical skills, some life in his bat," Littlefield said. "You watch him take batting practice and see how he drives the ball."
Needs work in minors
Bautista might not make it back to the majors this summer, but he thinks he has what it takes to stay once he completes his development in the minors.
"When I'm going good, I know I can play at the highest level," he said. "The difference between a minor leaguer and a major leaguer is being able to do things consistently. The only way I can get more consistent is to go out there and play."