Bautista also played for the Baltimore Orioles, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Kansas City Royals, Pittsburgh Pirates, Atlanta Braves, New York Mets, and Philadelphia Phillies.

The last of those clubs was the Pirates, where he would spend four-plus seasons, seeing time as a utility player, while playing at six different positions, including designated hitter (DH).

Coming from a middle-class family in the Dominican Republic that placed great importance on education, Bautista began studying English at age eight.

His mother was an accountant and financial planner, and his father, who had earned a master's degree in agricultural engineering in Hungary, ran poultry farms.

He was aided by the Latin Athletes Education Fund,[5] designed for players from Spanish-speaking countries aspiring to play college baseball in the United States.

Pérez informed him of the Latin Athletes Education Fund, designed for players from Spanish-speaking countries aspiring to play college baseball in the United States.

[14] This series of transactions made him the first player to appear on five different Major League Baseball rosters in one season, only since matched by Oliver Drake in 2018.

From June 14 to 24, he hit five home runs in a span of nine games against interleague opponents Baltimore, Chicago White Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, and the New York Yankees.

[17] However, he struggled offensively for most of the year, and after the 2008 trade deadline Bautista lost his starting job to the newly acquired Andy LaRoche.

[16][20] Starting the 2009 season on the bench, manager Cito Gaston assigned Bautista to back up Rolen and outfielders Alex Ríos and Adam Lind.

[15] In September and October, he finally broke through, hitting 10 home runs with 21 RBI, a .257 batting average and a .606 slugging percentage (SLG).

[30] Bautista was also named Blue Jays' Player of the Month, which is selected through voting by the Toronto chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

[56] During a game against the New York Yankees on September 5, Bautista hit his 40th home run of the season, a solo homer off reliever Rafael Soriano.

[16] His walk total was the highest in the league since Jason Giambi collected 137 in 2000,[60] while setting a new Blue Jays franchise record, which Delgado previously held with 123, also in 2000.

In doing so, he became the fourth player in Blue Jays franchise history to hit at least 25 home runs in four consecutive seasons, joining Bell (1984–1987), Carter (1991–1996), and Delgado (1996–2004).

[82] On August 10, Bautista ended the longest game in franchise history by hitting an opposite field single to drive in Munenori Kawasaki in the 19th inning, and gave the Jays the 6–5 win over the Detroit Tigers.

[94] On September 30, Bautista surpassed the 40 home run mark for the third time in his career, hitting a solo shot in the ninth inning against the Baltimore Orioles to extend the Blue Jays lead to 11–1.

[16] In that span, he hit more home runs than any other major leaguer – 28 ahead of second-place Miguel Cabrera[97] – was second in slugging percentage[98] and walks,[99] third in OPS[100] and OPS+[101] and fifth in OBP.

[102] On October 8, 2015, with just over 1,400 career games played, Bautista made his postseason debut against the Texas Rangers in the American League Division Series (ALDS).

[105] A vital symbol of Toronto's first postseason appearance since 1993,[106] the bat flip was voted Esurance's MLB Award for Best Play on Offense for 2015.

[16] In Game 3 of the ALCS against the Kansas City Royals, Bautista had one hit and two walks, joining Keith Hernandez as the only players in MLB postseason history to reach base three times on their birthday.

Two batters later, Bautista, intending to break-up a double play, made a hard, but no longer legal (as of that season), slide into second basemen Rougned Odor.

[123] After playing a few games for the Gwinnett Stripers, the Braves promoted Bautista to start at third base for the first of a three-game series against the San Francisco Giants on May 4.

Several reports followed suggesting he was eying a return to Major League Baseball as a pitcher - who could also provide at bats from another position or as a DH - but Bautista quashed the rumour quickly.

"Just to kind of clear the record, I've never stated that it was my plan or desire to make it to the big leagues as a big-league pitcher," he told MLB Network Radio.

[135] In March 2023, the Blue Jays announced that Bautista would be inducted onto their Level of Excellence on August 12, 2023, in ceremony prior to their game versus the Chicago Cubs.

[136] The day before the ceremony, Bautista signed a one-day contract with the team and formally announced that he will retire as a Toronto Blue Jay.

[137][138] On May 12, 2022, Bautista was named a special advisor to the general manager for the Leones del Escogido in the Dominican Professional Baseball League.

[142] The Americas qualifier was later rescheduled to be held from May 31 through June 5 in Port St. Lucie and West Palm Beach, Florida, with Bautista as the team's starting first baseman.

[154] In January 2024, Bautista acquired primary ownership of USL Championship soccer club Las Vegas Lights FC.